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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/27013546">Mark My Words</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Happy_Smiling_Things/pseuds/Happy_Smiling_Things'>Happy_Smiling_Things</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Wynonna Earp (TV)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Werewolf, Angst, F/F, Fluff, Hurt/Comfort, PTSD, Smut, Threats of Violence, Violence, Werewolf AU, werewolf!Nicole</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-10-14</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-12-05</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-07 02:15:37</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Mature</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>8</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>38,647</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/27013546</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Happy_Smiling_Things/pseuds/Happy_Smiling_Things</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Leaving the big city to work on a small town wasn't exactly how Nicole had planned her future, but it wasn't like she had a choice. It was a chance for a fresh start though, and she would have to do with it.<br/>With Purgatory.<br/>Hopefully things would be better there, after all it was a small town, nothing too bad could happen, right?</p><p>The thing is, when you're a werewolf, things rarely go as planned...</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Waverly Earp &amp; Nicole Haught, Waverly Earp/Nicole Haught</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>99</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>280</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Chapter 1</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Hello everyone!</p><p>Welcome to my first multi-chapter fic in the Wynonna Earp fandom. Hopefully you'll like it!<br/>Don't hesitate to leave a comment, it's always nice to see what the readers think of you work!<br/>You can also find me on Twitter as @frenchwaves1</p><p>To Lou,<br/>I told you when I first started to write this fic that you'd get a special shout-out, so here it is.<br/>Thank you for putting so much energy into our conversations and pushing my creativity and will to act on all our crazy talks. You're the reason this fic exists, and one of the reasons I started to write again.<br/>Thanks for being such a great friend, I simply don't know how I would've don't it without you.</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Things were different now, she could smell it.</p><p>She took a deep breath as she passed a sign indicating 40 miles until her final destination, eyes on the road as it had been the case for hours now. It had nothing to do with all the scents mixing in the city making her grimace, cheap colognes and greasy sandwiches giving her constant headaches. Now all she could smell was dust, tarmac and different essences of tree.</p><p>It was hot outside, surprisingly so for the start of May, but she wouldn’t complain. Nicole knew winters here wouldn’t be as mild as she was used to.</p><p>A red light lit up on her bike, and she let out a sigh. Time to take a break.</p><p>Stopping at the first gas station she saw on the side of the road, Nicole took the time to stir her legs and arms. She loved riding her motorbike, but always tended to do so without taking breaks until she ran out of gas, something her muscles weren’t that glad for.</p><p>Taking her helmet off, the woman ran a hand through her hair, sighing as a fresh breeze caressed her skin. It really was a hot day.</p><p>“Excuse me.”</p><p>Nicole’s body stiffen as she immediately turned her head, searching for the person speaking, her helmet in her hand, ready to be thrown.</p><p>“I just wanted to warn you that we can only take cash today, our card reader is off.”</p><p>It was just a teenager, nothing to worry about. She nodded and started to fill up, scanning her surroundings as the boy walked back in the building. There was nothing around her, no one, it was just her and her bike.</p><p>“No one would come this far Haught, take a breath and get back on the road,” she muttered to herself, walking slowly to the building.</p><p>It was just her and the teenager from earlier in it.</p><p>“No adult, weird,” Nicole thought, but it’s not like anything would happen in the middle of nowhere anyway.</p><p>She quickly scanned the shop, but it was completely silent and still so she relaxed, opening her jacket to take bills. Taking a few steps toward the desk, she stopped when her stomach grumbled. Her cup of coffee was the only thing she had drunk today, and it had been a long trip already.</p><p>“Do you need anything else?” Asked the boy.</p><p>“Do you have baby carrots?”</p><p>The cashier nodded and disappeared in the shop, coming back a few seconds after with what she’d asked. Nicole thanked him and paid before walking out, the sunlight blinding her as she went to her bike, checking her phone while eating her snack.</p><p>She took her time to finish her carrots, rolling her shoulders and massaging them a bit before she put her backpack into place, climbing back on her bike.</p><p>“Alright, it’s time to see what Purgatory’s got for me,” she told herself, putting her helmet back on and getting on the road again.</p><p>The wilderness was freeing for the city girl she had been most of her life. Riding her bike onto deserted roads wasn’t something she used to do, but she could already tell this was going to be something she’d grow found of. Her bike had mostly been a way to avoid traffic in the busy streets of the city, but here there were no cars to slalom between, no one to cross the street, no real speed limit. It almost felt like running in the forest, something she hadn’t done for way to long.</p><p>The scents surrounding her slightly changed as she was approaching Purgatory. She could still smell dust, but it was mixed with awful industrial smokes and something else she couldn’t recognize.</p><p>Nothing too welcoming, hopefully the rest of the town would be better.</p><p>Slowing down once she passed the “Welcome to Purgatory” sign, she looked around quickly, noting the small buildings with worn out facades, a few people walking around. It was really calm, something quite uncommon for Nicole.</p><p>She still had time before meeting with her new boss, and her throat was itching, so she decided to stop by at what seemed to be the local bar.</p><p>Her bike was the only vehicle parked in front of Shorty’s, it was probably too early to drink, even for locals. Pushing the doors, Nicole took a few steps inside, the coolness inside welcomed after hours spent under the sun in her dark attire on the road.</p><p>A woman was standing behind the bar, busy ordering glasses and bottles.</p><p>“Hello, is it open?” Nicole asked, taking in the empty bar.</p><p>The brunette turned around, putting the glass between her hands down.</p><p>“Shorty’s never closed, almost,” she answered with a smile, mentioning the stools in front of her.</p><p>Nicole smiled back as she started to walk further in, coming closer to the barmaid. Taking a deep breath as she used to do in every new place she visited, the redhead instantly grimaced. The smell of vomit, alcohol, smoke and cheap cologne took her throat, almost making her gag. But there was something else there, something that didn’t mix with the rest, a faint trace of… Jasmine?</p><p>Focusing her mind back on the woman behind the bar, she took a look at her. She had a ponytail and shiny lip gloss, and her nails were perfectly manicured. She didn’t really fit in the old dusty bar with a mechanical bull and all the western decorations, but Nicole had learned not to judge a book by its cover.</p><p>“Is there any chance you’d have something to eat?”</p><p>“Of course, we have nachos,” proposed the brunette.</p><p>“Perfect.”</p><p>The woman moved to what Nicole supposed was the kitchen, coming back quickly with a plate and a beer in her hands, setting everything in front of her.</p><p>“Here you are,” she smiled.</p><p>Nicole thanked her and started to eat, the food more than welcomed by her empty stomach. She left the beer on the bar though, asking for a glass of water instead. The barmaid looked at her with an eyebrow raised, but she gave her what he asked for without a comment.</p><p>“Is it always this calm?” Nicole asked after eating most of her plate.</p><p>“Just wait an hour and our first regulars should appear,” she answered with a smirk.</p><p>“I guess I’ll avoid Shorty’s for my afternoon coffee then.”</p><p>The woman standing on the other side of the bar straightened up, curiosity shining in her eyes as her head slightly tilted on the left. She putted down the glass she was cleaning and crossed her arms, giving Nicole her full attention now.</p><p>“So you’re not just passing by?” She inquired.</p><p>“I’m moving in Purgatory today.”</p><p>“Well, nice to meet you...”</p><p>“Nicole,” the redhead answered, holding out her hand to the brunette.</p><p>The barmaid nodded and shook her hand, and the warmth of her skin didn’t go unnoticed.</p><p>“Welcome to Purgatory, I’m Rosita.”</p><p>“Are you the owner of Shorty’s?”</p><p>Rosita shook her head with a chuckle, taking the now empty plate before Nicole.</p><p>“I’m just the bartender, the boss is probably still sleeping with all the whiskey he’s drunk last night. You’ll have more chance to meet him once the sun’s set.”</p><p>“Drinking while working?”</p><p>“Always,” the brunette smiled.</p><p>“Isn’t it a bit counterproductive for business?”</p><p>“Quite the opposite actually. Doc’s got his manners, and it might be unconventional but it works. You’ll see that by yourself if you ever come back for a drink.”</p><p>“You might see me again soon, but not for a drink,” smiled Nicole.</p><p>“Really?”</p><p>Nicole nodded, finishing her glass before getting up, checking her phone before putting it back in her pocket. She started to take bills from her wallet, but Rosita refused, saying it was on the house.</p><p>“Alright, I guess I’ll go now, still got some things to do. Thanks for the meal and the talk,” She said, grabbing her helmet.</p><p>Rosita waved her goodbye as she walked out of the bar, three men coming inside at the same time. Fresh air immediately helped to make Nicole feel better, lighter in some ways as she started her bike once more, riding through the city. They were busy people all around, but it wasn’t as intense as she used to back in the city she had just escaped. It was lively without being crowded, more balanced.</p><p>It didn’t take her long to reach the outskirts of Purgatory, near the forest. It had been her only demand when she contacted the estate agency: a house near the woods, and the one she stopped in front of was perfect.</p><p>There were a few things to work on, and the porch needed a refreshing, but it was at least twice as large as her flat in the city and she didn’t have anyone around.</p><p>Searching for the keys in her backpack, she looked around, smiling quietly at the peace and silence surrounding her. Maybe this time she would be good.</p><p>Pushing the front door open, she walked in her house, her footsteps echoing in the empty living room. Putting her backpack on the floor, Nicole stood there in the middle of the room, looking around, finally letting her shoulders relax.</p><p>Yeah, Purgatory could be her escape.</p><p>Looking down at her only baggage, she let out a small laugh.</p><p>“Funny how an entire life can be contained in a backpack,” she said to herself.</p><p>Putting her helmet on the floor next to her bag, she started to walk around, visiting the place for the first time. She had chosen the house based on photos the agent had sent her and sign everything through emails, it was easier and more discreet this way, so she was only now discovering where she would live.</p><p>It was even better than on the photos if she was being honest. With the sun shining this day, she could see how bright the first floor was, a glass door opening on a small wooden patio overlooking mountains and trees at the back of the house. The kitchen wasn’t big, but it was more than enough for her. Everything smelled clean, a faint scent of detergent and painting still lingering all around.</p><p>Climbing the stairs to the second floor, Nicole quickly checked the different rooms before stepping into what she had decided would be her bedroom. The window gave her another beautiful view on the woods, a small balcony promising hours of relaxation she was more than ready to enjoy.</p><p>But it wasn’t time to chill apparently.</p><p>She was on her way down to the living room to check the garage when her phone rang. Looking at the screen, she found a notification saying Sheriff Nedley was ready to meet her.</p><p>Taking a steadying breath, she put her phone back in her jacket and grabbed her helmet. It was time to meet her new boss now.</p><p>“Let’s go Haught, you’ve got this,” she told herself before closing the door, driving back to the city center.</p><p> </p><p>The tension was back on her shoulders as she approached the police station, her back feeling stiff as she parked in front of the building. It was just like the city, small and a bit damaged by time, something that reassured her.</p><p>She took a good inhale as she opened the front door, her muscles almost relaxing at the familiar scents of coffee, ink and paper. She wasn’t surprised to also smell a note of alcohol from the back of the station, where the drunk tanks probably were.</p><p>“Can I help you?” Asked an officer sitting behind the front desk.</p><p>Nicole didn’t get the time to respond, as a man stood outside the Sheriff’s office, walking toward them.</p><p>“It’s fine Lonnie I got this,” the man said before turning to Nicole, stretching out his hand.</p><p>She immediately took it, shaking it firmly with her eyes on his face.</p><p>“Nicole Haught?”</p><p>“Yes, sir.”</p><p>“Sheriff Nedley. You’re right on time, let’s move to my office now.”</p><p>Nicole nodded and followed the man, closing the door behind her before taking a few steps further, standing on her side of the desk until Nedley mentioned the chair in front of him.</p><p>“I would like to thank you for having me sheriff, and I can assure you-”</p><p>“You can relax, it’s not an interview, I’ve already hired you as a deputy,” interrupted the man before moving closer to his desk, looking a bit over it before taking a few papers and pushing it toward Nicole, “I already know you’re good at your job, I wouldn’t have send a proposition otherwise.”</p><p>The redhead nodded again, looking at the papers in front of her. Nedley pushed a pen towards her without a word, and she read it quickly before looking up, searching for some room on the desk to fill it.</p><p>“I wanted to meet you in person so you could fill these papers and be done with paperwork.”</p><p>“Here sir, everything’s filled,” replied Nicole, checking her papers before handing it back.</p><p>The sheriff arched a brow in surprise and took it, looking at the forms for a second before looking back at Nicole, nodding appreciatively.</p><p>“As efficient as I thought, good.” He huffed, getting up and walking to the strongbox before turning around with a badge and a service weapon, giving them to the woman standing in front of him, “Here you are, deputy Haught.”</p><p>“Thank you for your trust sheriff, I won’t disappoint you.”</p><p>“Oh I know that,” the man smiled before opening the door, “now let’s get moving, you have to get familiar with the station.”</p><p>Nicole followed her superior back to the front desk, greeting her future colleagues as they walked down the corridor leading to what she already had identified as the drunk tanks. The alcohol scent was almost suffocating but she didn’t let her discomfort show, holding her breath as Nedley talked briefly, relieved when he finally closed the door, already moving to the next stop.</p><p>“I’m pretty sure you already know how a police station work so I won’t give you the complete explanation about arrest orders and radio and all of that. Just know that you’d better put your name on your lunch if you put it in the fridge. Also, the coffee machine is broken, so you’ll have to go to Shorty’s if you want one. We usually take turn to go there and bring coffee for everyone, it’s a good way to make sure everything’s okay there.”</p><p>“Are you often called to intervene there?” Asked Nicole, crossing her arms.</p><p>“More often than I’d like to,” chuckled Nedley before waving his hand, “but you’ll see that soon enough.”</p><p>The sheriff stopped in front of an unoccupied desk, everything still neatly put on it. There was more space between desks here that on her previous station, it was something she would appreciate for sure. Back in the city, everyone was so squished it put her on edge constantly.</p><p>How she had survived in this city without going crazy, it was an entire mystery.</p><p>“Alright, so this will be your desk. I know the office doesn’t have the modern style your last one had, but it never stopped me from working.”</p><p>“It’s pretty nice actually,” she smiled, “things seems… quieter here.”</p><p>“Don’t worry, Purgatory might be a small town, but it has its share of troubles,” the sheriff smiled.</p><p>Nedley then turned his head as the radio in the room went on, a deputy answering quickly before motioning to him. The man excused himself and walked away, helping his officer as Nicole took a better look at her surroundings.  </p><p>Sure, it had a general older style than what she had been used to, but it also felt… warmer in some ways. She liked the wooden desks and old tiles, and the dark blue walls covered with plans and pictures were definitely better than the sterile light gray walls she had been between for two years.</p><p>Nicole tried her best not to focus on what the sheriff and the officer were saying, but some words came to her ears, piquing her curiosity.</p><p>“...just like last week, they don’t know what to do.”</p><p>“Call the Black Badge Division, agent Dolls shouldn’t be too far.”</p><p>“Do you think...”</p><p>“I don’t know Lonnie, that’s why I’m telling you to call them.”</p><p>The sheriff then turned back to her, and Nicole quickly looked away, trying to erase the frown from her face as he approach, running one of his hand on his face, suddenly looking tired.</p><p>“Alright, I think we’re good for today,” he sighed, “I’m expecting you here Monday.”</p><p>“I can be there tomorrow if you want.”</p><p>“It’s okay, I know you just got into town, take the time to settle properly. You’ll have a lot of work waiting for you on Monday, so rest well.”</p><p>“Alright,” she nodded, “I’ll leave you to work then.”</p><p>Nedley smile at her and they both started to walk to the exit, but the sheriff abruptly stopped just before they passed the front desk.</p><p>“Wait, I completely forgot to give you your uniform. It’ll just take a minute, follow me.”</p><p>They walked back to the locker room, Nedley stopping once on their way to calm one of the drunk men screaming in the drunk tank he was locked in. Big city or Purgatory, some things just stay the same apparently.</p><p>“Here, you’ve got everything for your first day. You may need to iron you shirt though, I’m not good with folding shirts.”</p><p>“That’s okay I’ll manage,” Nicole smiled, taking the pile of clothes in her arms.</p><p>“Okay, well now you can go, I’m sure you still have a lot of things to do.”</p><p>The redhead opened her mouth but the sheriff was already walking away, so she hurried behind him. They took another door to exit the locker room, and ended up in a corridor she had not been in yet.</p><p>“Excuse me sir,” she called looking around, detecting new scents, “I don’t think you’ve shown me this room.”</p><p>“Oh, don’t worry about that.”</p><p>Nedley seemed ready to go again, but something in the way Nicole looked at him must have made him change his mind as they both stood in front of the door with “B.B.D” on it.</p><p>“This side of the station is for the special division, they deal with our special cases. It’s a room you’re not allowed to be in, we stick with the more common things,” he explained.</p><p>Nicole nodded, though the irony of the situation was excellent.</p><p>She’d be stuck dealing with drunk guys and thieves in stores when another team would work on complicated and possibly supernatural-related cases.</p><p>Her, a werewolf.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Chapter 2</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Hi everyone, and welcome to chapter 2! I hope you'll enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it.<br/>Don't hesitate to leave a comment, nothing makes me happier than to hear what you think!<br/>You can find me on Twitter as @frenchwaves1</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <em>Faster.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Push harder on you legs.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Roots. Rocks in the corner, with a fallen tree on the way. Small lake with a waterfall a bit further.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Go faster.</em>
</p><p>If there was one thing Nicole had craved doing for years now, it was that. The last time she had been able to just get out of her house and go for a run in the woods was years ago, back when she was in high-school, and damn had she missed it.</p><p>Waking up to a quiet environment had been a blessing already, and it had been a long time since she felt so rested. The sun was just starting to rise when she had hopped out of bed to walk on her small balcony, watching the sky ignite, orange replacing dark blue as time went by.</p><p>She had a lot to do today, pieces of furniture waiting for her to be assembled in her garage, but there was no way she would pass a good run in the woods with the sun rising.</p><p>The chill breeze finished to wake her up as she walked outside after quickly drinking her coffee, and she directed her feet to the mountains. Her wolf had been agitated for a few days now, unable to come out in any way. Nicole was used to it, she was very careful with that side of herself and usually suppressed any wolfish reaction or behavior. It was just easier this way, and given how it had turned when she had let her wolf take more space…</p><p>“Alright, let’s go now,” she sighed after running her hand between red strands, starting to run.</p><p>Cold air filled her lungs as she started to go deeper into the woods, trying to memorize everything around her, every tree, every rock, becoming familiar with her new territory.</p><p>No one seemed to come around given the absence of any other scent but her own, which was a good news. Maybe she could turn and run in her wolf form next time.</p><p>Everything was so clear, the colors so bright it made her head spin a little. This was a clear change from her ancient life and she’d need a few days to completely get used to it, but it felt amazing.</p><p>Pushing herself harder on a slope leading to the waterfall, Nicole felt the muscles of her legs burning, her breath hot as she slowed down, the top of the waterfall in sight.</p><p>“Oh my, I really need to get back to daily jog,” she sighed once she arrived at the spot, stretching and chuckling when her wolf agreed with her.</p><p>It was nice to reconnect with herself instead of fighting her nature, even if it was just a few interactions like that one. Sitting on the rocks near the water, she closed her eyes, taking a few deep breaths, studying every scent contained by the woods, letting herself immerse into it, unlocking her senses. Birds were flying high in the trees, the breeze making leaves sing and pin needles roll on the floor. The sun rays were breaking through the trees, warming the side of her face as droplets from the river supplying the waterfall were splashing her bare legs.</p><p>A twig broke further down the woods and Nicole instantly opened her eyes, hunkered down with her body tensed.</p><p>“Let’s see how fast I am after all this time,” she whispered with a smirk.</p><p>Her wolf pushed inside and she obliged, running in the direction of the noise, focused on the prey.</p><p>More twigs cracked, the animal more than aware of what was coming. It tried to flee, changing direction several times to escape Nicole. It was fast but not enough, even for a rusty werewolf, and she finally caught her prey, jumping on it and closing her hands around soft fur.</p><p>The rabbit tried to escaped her, its heart thundering and his pupils dilated by the fear as she caressed its head, catching her breath with a smile.</p><p>“It’s okay buddy, I won’t hurt you.”</p><p>It was pretty usual to have animals fearing her, it was part of being who she was, even if she didn’t really like it. Only dogs seemed to be okay with her around, most of the time.</p><p>“You’re good, now run,” she said, letting it go and watching it disappear between the bushes.</p><p>She then straightened up and brushed her hands together, checking the time before starting to move back to her house, deciding it was enough for today.</p><p>Taking another way to go back home so she could get familiar with all the surroundings, she arrived by the backyard, walking around and taking the stairs two by two, heading straight to the shower.</p><p>Feeling the water run on her skin helped to re-energize herself. She had spent a big part of the evening and night working to unpack some boxes stocked in her garage, at least everything for her bedroom and bathroom, plus the bare minimum for the kitchen.</p><p>Leaving the city with only a backpack hadn’t been her choice, well, not entirely.</p><p>She didn’t care about a lot of thing, so it hadn’t been that hard to just take essential stuff and jump on her bike to go.</p><p>No, what had been hard was to make sure she would have everything delivered at her new house without leaving any trace anywhere, to be sure no one would know where she was heading. It had been quite challenging, considering she had needed to handle everything in a little less than a month, but she had done it.</p><p>Now she needed to assemble everything, and it would take some time, probably all her week-end.</p><p>Stepping out of the shower, Nicole didn’t lose time and got dressed quickly, heading downstairs where boxes were waiting for her.</p><p>It was a giant mess.</p><p>She had almost fell asleep on a half assembled coffee table, and had left everything to get some sleep, but now that she was well and awake and ready to get back to work, she measured the mess she had made.</p><p>“Alright,” she sighed as she bent over to take the Allen wrench on the floor, “let’s see how fast I can go with all of this.”</p><p>By the time her stomach grumbled, Nicole had practically finished assembling the first floor furnishes.</p><p>Being a werewolf definitely had some props.</p><p>Standing up in the living room to push the bookcase against the wall, she took a look around, nodding to herself with what was actually starting to feel cozy. Sure, most things still smelled pretty awful and just too new to truly feel like home, but it would faint away pretty soon.</p><p>The wooden floor gave the room a warm touch, her gray couch and light rug contrasting with it, a few tones darker than the wall, everything put together giving a peaceful ambiance to the house. It was still a bit empty, but she’d fill it with new things surely.</p><p>The small table and chairs were all set near the kitchen, a couple of boxes of tableware waiting for her to be set in cupboards, something she’d probably do later, when she’d be too tired to assemble pieces of furniture.</p><p>“Maybe I can really be done before I have to go to work,” Nicole sighed, slowly walking to the coffee table.</p><p>Checking the time on her phone, she debated if she should either just skip lunch or go quickly to Shorty’s to eat something.</p><p>The loud grumbling of her stomach made her move to find her keys and helmet.</p><p>It seemed like she wasn’t the only one riding a bike in town, considering the Harleys parked next to the front door.</p><p>Her bike stood out next to the others, not only because she wasn’t riding a Harley, but also because her bike didn’t seem like it was about to die any minute. Every other bike seemed to have had a long life and lots of miles under their wheels already, which her own bike had too, but these ones hadn’t seen a garage for a long time.</p><p>“What a shame,” Nicole sighed as she walked through the parking to the door.</p><p>She was about to push it when it burst open, a group of guys walking out of the building speaking loudly, making the redhead cringe at the volume. Letting them pass, she quickly slipped inside, her sight adjusting to the low lightning as she went straight to the empty counter, pleased by the perspective of a quiet lunch.</p><p>“Well, look who’s there,” someone said as she took place, putting her helmet next to her on the counter, just in case someone had in mind to interrupt her break.</p><p>“Rosita,” she waved.</p><p>“So, still not there for a drink?”</p><p>Nicole smiled at the barmaid, shaking her head as she looked around, searching for a menu.</p><p>“I’m here for food once again, but don’t worry, I’ll come for a drink eventually. What do you have today?”</p><p>“I’d say the chef’s surprise is okay if you’re starving and not afraid of food poisoning.”</p><p>“Are you talking about lasagna? Because that’s all I can smell right now,” Nicole asked with an arched brow.</p><p>“How did you guess?”</p><p>“I have a good sense of smell,” Nicole brushed vaguely, “plus I haven’t smelled actual food for some time now so it’s a nice change.”</p><p>Rosita chuckled at that before putting the dish towel she was using on her shoulder, setting the newly cleaned glasses at their place behind her.</p><p>“The simple fact that you like what you smell is telling a lot about what you’ve been eating lately,” she joked.</p><p>“You have no idea.”</p><p>“Alright, then lasagna it is. I’ll be right back.”</p><p>Shaking her head in disbelief, Rosita then walked away towards the kitchen, coming back barely a minute after with a plate and a glass of water, putting them all in front of Nicole, who thanked her before grabbing the fork, taking a mouthful before closing her eyes, moaning at the taste.</p><p>“Girl, I’m really concerned about your last meals now,” said the brunette.</p><p>“Have you tried it?”</p><p>“Yes, that’s why I’m so concerned.”</p><p>That made Nicole laugh as she kept eating, barely taking the time to breath. She hadn’t realized she was that hungry while working on her furniture. She was used to forget about those type of needs, eating or sleeping.</p><p>She ate her half her plate without even taking her breath, and almost chocked over Rosita’s expression as she was cleaning a couple of glasses in front of her.</p><p>“What?” Nicole said once she could breath normally again.</p><p>“I can’t believe that you’re not only eating, but enjoying that,” Rosita said with a grimace on her face.</p><p>“But it’s really good!”</p><p>“I swear, you might have a good sense of smell, but your taste buds are dead. It’s even worse than our nachos, and nachos are hard to mess up.”</p><p>“The nachos were good!”</p><p>“See? Absolutely dead.”</p><p>Nicole then started to laugh, shaking her head at the woman before a strong smell came to her nose. Immediately straightening on her sit, she inhaled that scent of so many mixed alcohol and dirt she felt her head spin a little, looking discreetly around to find who had came in, in vain.</p><p>A man then appeared from the door next to the bar, and new wave of the scent waved around. Tall, with a thick mustache and a hat on his head.</p><p>“I thought you had stopped flirting during you shift.”</p><p>“I’m not flirting, I’m being nice with our new Purgatorian,” replied the barmaid, rolling her eyes at the comment the man had just made.</p><p>Nicole focused her attention toward him as he turned his head to look at her, and even if they didn’t exchange a word right then, the subtle tension of two predators gauging their prey was kind of palpable.</p><p>“Purgatory gaining new citizens is something pretty rare.”</p><p>“That’s what I’ve heard,” simply replied Nicole.</p><p>“Well, I hope you will find Purgatory to your liking...”</p><p>The man extended a hand, and she took it without breaking their eye contact, making sure to give him a firm handshake before picking up her fork again.</p><p>“Nicole.”</p><p>“It’s a pleasure to meet you Nicole. Your lunch is on the house, take it as a welcoming gift from Shorty’s.”</p><p>“But Rosita already offered me my first lunch here.”</p><p>“Then you’ll get two free meals from us, consider yourself lucky,” he smiled.</p><p>And she couldn’t quite place it, but something about that look in his eyes and his smile made her uncomfortable. Even her wolf had started to pace when the new scent came around, and it hadn’t calmed down since, its tail flapping every now and then.</p><p>But maybe she had just spent too much time judging people and not giving them a chance, immediately mistrusting them. Purgatory was her new start, she had to try.</p><p>“Then thank you...”</p><p>“John Henry Holliday, but you can call me Doc.”</p><p>“So you are the owner of that bar?” Asked Nicole, taking a sip of water, straightening herself on her sit.</p><p>“I am. Can we get you something to drink? Something stronger than what’s in you glass.”</p><p>“I’m fine with water, thank you.”</p><p>Doc tapped his hat once more at her before taking back the bottle he had set on the counter when he arrived earlier, walking to the end of the bar. That weird feeling didn’t leave her shoulders, not even after the man had walked away, and it bugged her.</p><p>Luckily enough for her, Rosita didn’t seem to go serve the two guys who had just arrived, letting Doc handle it while she stayed in front of her.</p><p>“I know, he can be a bit… destabilizing at first,” she smiled at her, glancing at the new clients before focusing back on Nicole.</p><p>“I didn’t say a thing.”</p><p>“You have a good sense of smell, and I have good eyes, each of us have a superpower.”</p><p>Holding still on her sit for a few seconds, Nicole just stared at the woman standing on the other side of the bar, trying to understand what had given her out. Staying under the radars had always been her forte, and surely she hadn’t been that warm with Doc, but she hadn’t been openly wary.</p><p><em>“It’s okay, she’s a barmaid, she’s used to watch and analyze people. Just be careful around her and it will be fine, she’s not a threat. No one’s a threat here, you’re safe,”</em> she told herself, taking a breath to calm down.</p><p>Putting her smile back on her face, she put her fork on her empty plate, rolling her shoulders to shake the tension off of it.</p><p>“How long have you been working for him?”</p><p>“Oh, well… I’ve known him for a long time, he’s a close friend.”</p><p>It was now Rosita’s turn to dodge the question and stay vague. Her wolf suddenly stood still in her and tilted its head, intrigued by this change too.</p><p>Deciding to stay silent for now, Nicole leaned on her elbows, putting her chin on the palm of her hands, eyebrows high, ready for a little story.</p><p>“We met when we were teenagers, and he’s always made sure I would stay out of trouble. I came back in Purgatory once I finished college and he hired me.”</p><p>“Got any trouble?” Asked the red haired.</p><p>“You know what they say, you can choose your friends, but not you family...”</p><p>“Yeah, I know that one,” she nodded.</p><p>Both women exchanged a look after that, neither saying anything though. It wasn’t needed.</p><p>Rosita left her alone for a few, going on the other side of the bar to serve some clients as she enjoyed the calm around, looking at Doc from time to time, checking the way he was talking and laughing with his clients, drinking with them too.</p><p>It was a good time she was spending, until a strong scent almost made her throw up.</p><p>That’s when the barmaid decided to come back on her side of the counter, and she arched a brow, looking at her with an amused expression.</p><p>“So, the lasagna are finally kicking your stomach?” She laughed when she saw her face.</p><p>Nicole didn’t answer as she moved her hand away and gulped, taking short inhalations as a woman almost crashed into the counter next to her.</p><p>“The usual. Wait no, you know what? Double or triple that, or just give me the bottle.”</p><p>“Bad day?” Smiled Rosita, already giving her a glass of whiskey.</p><p>“I don’t see how it can get worse.”</p><p>The woman then looked around in the bar quickly and sighed heavily, hunching in front of her drink.</p><p>“You know what? Forget what I just said, things can always get shittier.”</p><p>“Oh come on, he’s a good guy!”</p><p>“That’s the problem Rosita, he’s a good guy, and we both know I don’t do good guys.”</p><p>“Unfortunately...” Sighed the barmaid, moving the bottle of whiskey away with a glare.</p><p>The woman tried again, but Rosita pushed her hand away, clicking her tongue at the face she made before rolling her eyes, starting to play with her glass.</p><p>“Anyway, we’ve got anyone new around? There’s a bike that doesn’t seem to be about to disintegrate parked with the others and no one here knows how to take care of these babies.”</p><p>“It’s mine,” said Nicole before Rosita could answer.</p><p>Finally looking at her with her brows high, the brunette nodded appreciatively, rising her glass at her.</p><p>“Well, it’s nice to have a woman of taste around.”</p><p>Nicole chuckled but said nothing, subtly moving back on her stool, trying not to crinkle her nose too obviously at the new wave of strong scent.</p><p>Apparently she wasn’t subtle enough, cause the stranger sitting next to her looked at her and straightened back on her sit, quickly looking over her shoulder before looking back at her.</p><p>“What, do I smell bad? I swear I’ve put deodorant this morning…” the woman said, sniffing under her arm with a frown.</p><p>“Don’t worry, you smell just like always,” answered the barmaid.</p><p>“Don’t know if it’s a good thing.”</p><p>Rosita let out a small laugh at that, shaking her head as the brunette glanced over once again. Nicole followed her look this time, noticing a group of firefighters sitting and talking together on the opposite side of the room. One of them looked over, and the woman immediately turned around, hissing as she drank down her whiskey in one go. Her hand was already moving to the bottle when her phone lightened up, and she sighed heavily, almost groaning as she read the text she had just received.</p><p>“Alright, I guess I have to go.”</p><p>“Already?” Asked Rosita, taking back the bottle she had settle on the counter before the other woman could help herself with it.</p><p>“You know how’s Dolls, I can’t miss a training.”</p><p>“I wouldn’t risk it either.”</p><p>The woman nodded before hopping off of her stool, waving at Rosita as she walked away just as she had appeared.</p><p>Nicole waited for her to pass the main doors, staying silent with her glass of her water until she heard what most likely was the engine of her car thrumming and rolling away to focus on Rosita again.</p><p>“Purgatory seems full of… interesting people,” she let out.</p><p>“You’re not wrong here.”</p><p>“And who was that?”</p><p>“That,” smirked Rosita, taking her plate away after tossing her towel on her shoulder, “was Wynonna Earp. You’ll get used to her presence if you keep visiting Shorty's as often as you’ve been doing.”</p><p>“I don’t know if I’ll be able to get used to such a strong personality,” laughed Nicole, wrinkling her nose.</p><p>Her grimace didn’t go unnoticed by the barmaid, who nodded at her comment.</p><p>“Yeah, you can’t miss her when she’s around.”</p><p>And with that she walked to the kitchen, leaving Nicole alone, thinking about the woman she had just met.</p><p>Whiskey soaked, seemed pretty reckless, piercing blue eyes.</p><p>She smelled like troubles, danger almost.</p><p>“Better keep an eye on her...” she muttered to herself.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. Chapter 3</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Hi!<br/>Here's chapter 3, enjoy, it's a long one!</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>“We’ve got a new one, sorry.”</p>
<p>“You’re kidding me, right?” Sighed Nicole, letting herself fall against her chair backrest.</p>
<p>“I wish.”</p>
<p>Another missing pet report joined the others on her already pretty big pile of papers, and she stopped typing for a second. The sheriff had put her on paperwork, and it wasn’t that surprising as it was her first day at the station, but it didn’t mean it was enjoyable.</p>
<p>She waited until Lonnie was back at his desk further to let out a small growl, looking at the seventh report for a missing dog she had seen this morning. How could there be so much animals disappearing in this town?</p>
<p>The sheriff walked in the room with a coffee on his hand and binders under his arm, and even if she was bored with her job, she smiled as he passed near her desk. Something in the way he smiled in return told her he knew exactly how pissed she was though.</p>
<p>“Everything’s fine Haught?” He asked as he opened the door of his office.</p>
<p>“Perfect, just typing the report and preparing the tickets.”</p>
<p>The old man laughed but didn’t say anything else, closing his door with his foot as Nicole let out another sigh before taking the next report, opening a new document and starting to type again.</p>
<p>That’s how the whole morning went, just her, sitting behind her desk and typing. Nicole kept stretching, but she tried to stay as focused as she could on her work, wanting all this paperwork to be done as quickly as possible.</p>
<p>By the time she took her lunch break, there was only two reports and a ticket left on her desk, waiting for her to be handled.</p>
<p>Taking her time as she walked to the kitchen of the station, she took a quick look around. Things were pretty slow until now, and aside from a few citizens coming for their missing pets, there had been absolutely nothing. Everything was so calm here, it felt strange to both her and her wolf. Both were accustomed working in a busy, noisy station with people always coming and going, the phone always ringing on someone's desk, and vehicles passing all around, but Purgatory wasn’t the city she had escaped from, and for the first time, she almost missed it.</p>
<p>“Lost in your thoughts?”</p>
<p>Turning around swiftly, she found the sheriff approaching her, his empty mug in his hand.</p>
<p>“Just thinking about the past,” Nicole answered, brushing it off as she followed him.</p>
<p>“It must be different.”</p>
<p>“It is, but it’s nice.”</p>
<p>“You’re not bored already with Purgatory?” Sheriff Nedley asked, putting his lunch on the microwave before turning around.</p>
<p>“No, Purgatory is a nice place, I like it here. It’s peaceful, and the woods are great to hike.”</p>
<p>Something changed on the man’s face, but it was too subtle for Nicole to clearly get it before it was gone, replaced by that slightly amused expression he had earlier.</p>
<p>“You went to the woods around here?”</p>
<p>“Yeah, I live near a hiking trail so I decided to go check my new surroundings during the week-end,” said Nicole, moving in the room to heat her plate once Nedley took his out of the microwave, going to the table.</p>
<p>“Be careful when you’re out there, we’ve got some problems with coyotes recently.”</p>
<p>“Coyotes?”</p>
<p>The sheriff nodded as she took the chair in front of him, frowning at the information. She hadn’t spent a lot of time outside yet, but she hadn’t smell any trace of coyotes around…</p>
<p>“It should be fine if you stay on the trail and go out in daylight though, every incidents reported happened during the night and rather deep in the woods.”</p>
<p>“But what kind of incidents?” Asked Nicole, intrigued by all of this.</p>
<p>Nedley shifted on his sit, looking at his plate for a moment, and she thought she wouldn’t get an answer but the man looked up at her with a grave air.</p>
<p>“The kind I’d rather not have to deal with.”</p>
<p>The tension in the room kept getting higher, making Nicole’s wolf pace inside, its fur bristling as it started to sniff, getting on edge. Something was happening there, and she didn’t have any idea what it was, which didn’t help to calm herself.</p>
<p>The sheriff didn’t say anything else after that, and she rolled her shoulders before starting to eat in silence, her mind racing to find an explanation to what she had just been told. She would’ve preferred to work on that coyote case instead of doing paperwork, that way she most certainly would've been more useful. Maybe she could ask to work on it once the hazing would end…</p>
<p>“Anyway, don’t stress yourself too much over it, we’ve got a lot of other things to handle,” sighed Nedley.</p>
<p>“Things like cats and dogs out in the wild?” She tried to ease the tension.</p>
<p>The man chuckled and nodded, rising the coffee pot to propose a cup to her, which she accepted.</p>
<p>Standing up to quickly wash her dishes, she then turned around to get her coffee, closing her eyes for a second to enjoy the first sip of it.</p>
<p>“It’s not that bad for a station coffee, right?”</p>
<p>“It’s definitely better than the one I had in my previous one,” she smiled, making the sheriff laugh.</p>
<p>“Alright, I’ll let you go back to your reports, there’s a binder waiting for me on my desk.”</p>
<p>“It’d be a shame if these missing pet reports weren’t typed today,” she mumbled to herself as she let herself fall back on her chair, her nose buried in her cup.</p>
<p>“Got something to say deputy Haught?”</p>
<p>“Everything’s fine sir!”</p>
<p>“Good, have a nice afternoon then,” he smiled before going to his office.</p>
<p>Nicole sighed once more before finishing her coffee as soon as the door closed behind him, thinking about the rest of the day. She didn’t have too much papers left, so if she worked quickly she could be done in an hour and maybe do something else…</p>
<p>“Here, the tickets from yesterday.”</p>
<p>Turning her head to the side of her desk, Nicole almost chocked on her last sip of coffee.</p>
<p>“Wait, Lonnie, what is all of this?”</p>
<p>“What?”</p>
<p>“That, all of that!” She exclaimed, gesturing at the new pile of paper that most definitely wasn’t there before she took her lunch break.</p>
<p>Tickets, depositions, archives, all spread across her desk. Everything was pilled there, looking like her new nightmare.</p>
<p>“The sheriff told me to get you all we need to enter in our new database, and we still need to get the paperwork done. You’re the rookie, so you’re the one doing it.”</p>
<p>“And here I thought I was almost done...”</p>
<p>“Just wait, we have other boxes that still need to be typed so we can make room for current investigations,” laughed the officer before walking away, leaving her with her new hell.</p>
<p>“Fine, great, awesome,” she hissed, taking the first paper on the pile and getting into it right ahead, more than eager to be done with it.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Hours passed, and even if she had made some significant progresses with all the things Lonnie and the sheriff had put on her desk at lunch, she still wasn’t done.</p>
<p>Checking the time, she let out a frustrated growl.</p>
<p>“I guess I won’t finish it today, or even tomorrow...” she whispered to herself, letting her head fall behind to ease the pain in her neck.</p>
<p>Things still were pretty calm at the station. Lonnie had taken care of the two people who had come, but otherwise there wasn’t much happening around. The phone had rung a couple times, but then again Lonnie had answered before she could, which had made her grit her teeth.</p>
<p>What she wanted to do was investigate, go on patrol, anything but paperwork.</p>
<p>But someone had to do it, and it seemed like she was that someone for now on.</p>
<p>The door burst opened and Nicole’s head shot up, immediately straightening up on her chair.</p>
<p>“Nedley’s not here, actually he was the one to call me. They had to go for an emergency, but he left the file for us.”</p>
<p>“He didn’t walked in our room?”</p>
<p>“No he didn’t walk in, you’ve got to chill a bit with that!”</p>
<p>Before she could register what was happening, Wynonna walked around quickly, talking to a tall black man with a frown on his face, a gun attached on his side. The woman didn’t seem as reckless as yesterday, and she didn’t smell as bad.</p>
<p>Or maybe it was because she was further than yesterday.</p>
<p>“What we’re working on is...”</p>
<p>“Strictly confidential and super risky, I get it Dolls,” retorted Wynonna, pushing the door of the BBD room right after grabbing the file set on the nearby chair.</p>
<p>Still unsure if what she had just seen was real, Nicole got up, walking to the station kitchen with her mug in her hand, focusing on her hearing to know more about all of this.</p>
<p>“Alright,” the man – Dolls, whoever this might be – sighed, walking behind her, “what does it says?”</p>
<p>“Seems like some serious bullshit again, look at the picture, they tortured him.”</p>
<p>“It’s the third-”</p>
<p>Nicole frowned when the sound disappeared and tried to focus, but as soon as the door was closed she couldn’t hear a thing.</p>
<p>“Soundproof room? What’s happening in this town?” She asked herself, slowly getting back to her desk.</p>
<p>She hadn’t been in Purgatory for a week yet and things were already starting to get strange. From relatively bored and frustrated, her wolf started to get tense, trying to understand what was going on in this new environment.</p>
<p>Nicole did her best to reassure it, taking a few deep breaths and ordering the papers on her desk, but the tension was still there, and it wasn’t just on her wolf.</p>
<p>“Focus on your work and keep things under your radar, everything should be okay this way,” she repeated herself in her head again and again, putting all the papers she had entered in the database in a box, moving it next to her chair before sitting back at her desk.</p>
<p>She didn’t get to focus on paperwork for long though, as the radio set on the front desk started to crackle.</p>
<p>“Deputy Haught, what’s happening?” She asked as soon as she found the right buttons.</p>
<p>“There’s a… Shorty's… back-up.”</p>
<p>“Can you repeat please? I can’t hear you properly.”</p>
<p>“There’s a fight at Shorty's, a big one, we need back-up to handle the situation.”</p>
<p>“I’m on my way.”</p>
<p>Feeling a sudden rush of adrenaline, Nicole moved swiftly to her desk, grabbing her keys and making her way out of the station without further explanations.</p>
<p>“Let’s see what these famous bar fights are like in Purgatory,” she muttered to herself, jumping in her cruiser.</p>
<p>It was probably a good thing that the station was only a few minutes away from Shorty's by car, considering how loud the voices were, and she wasn’t even inside yet.</p>
<p>The place seemed crowded, bunches of bikes and old pickups being parked all around the place, and a few people jogged their way out of the bar, almost running into the few police officers who were trying to take depositions outside.</p>
<p>The sun was far from set, and the early evening was still warm, something Nicole could've appreciated, if only she could have been alone, running in the woods or just taking a walk in a calm environment.</p>
<p>But a bar fight was still better than paperwork, especially after all the weird things that had happened today, stressing her wold more and more.</p>
<p>But her wolf could manage violence. Violence was an easy thing to understand, and the pull she felt to put everything in order inside herself almost made her smile.</p>
<p>“Deputy Haught, I’ve got your message at the station. The sheriff is out, I was the only one there, what’s going on?”</p>
<p>“From what we’ve been told, a small group entered the bar and started to break everything inside. I hope you’re ready for it, my team haven’t managed to stop them yet,” the officer answered.</p>
<p>Noises of glass shattering and screams punctuated his words, and Nicole nodded, going to the doors and opening it in one strong move.</p>
<p>What she saw there was beyond what she had imagined.</p>
<p>The place was crammed, and it was nothing but complete chaos. Men and women were fighting everywhere, screaming and throwing anything they could get their hands on. There wasn’t much tables left untouched, and most of the customers who hadn’t escaped the bar or weren’t implicated in the fight were just pressed against the walls, trying not to get punched.</p>
<p>Nicole then looked around in the room, searching for any familiar face, finding Doc held by two man, trying to escape their grip only to receive a punch in the stomach.</p>
<p>“Alright, time for exercise I guess,” sighed Nicole.</p>
<p>She then walked down the stairs and headed right into the fights, dodging bottles and stopping as many punches as she could, trying to find some colleagues in vain.</p>
<p>“Everybody calms down!” She shouted, separating two guys with a grunt.</p>
<p>Her order got lost between everyone’s scream, and she moved swiftly to block a punch directed at her face, repelling the guy and making sure he’d stay away from the one he was fighting. The smell of alcohol almost made her head spin, and she took care to breath by the mouth to limit the damages.</p>
<p>She was about to yell again when officers appeared at her sides, helping to keep the men away from each other, calming them as Nicole kept walking her way through the place. Having supernatural strength was without a doubt an advantage at this point, considering how many punches she had to stop or deflect, but she had to stay cautious about the amount of strength she was putting into stopping the fights, not only to make sure she wouldn’t hurt someone by stopping them, but also so no one would have a doubt.</p>
<p>It wasn’t an easy situation, but they were slowly progressing, her colleagues having finally join her after seeing her succeeding into separating some guys.</p>
<p>“Get them all aligned by the wall,” she ordered at the closest officer, handing him a woman who was pretty vigorous in her attempt to escape her hold, “we check everyone’s identity and get a list done for the report!”</p>
<p>“But they are too much for us!”</p>
<p>“Stay calm and just align them, we’ve got this.”</p>
<p>The man didn’t seem convinced by her words, but he did as he was told. By the time they had cleared a bit more than half the mess, other back-ups made their entrance, making it easier to keep the people aligned calm as Nicole was still struggling to get to Doc. He had disappeared from her sight a second earlier, and was now to be found again.</p>
<p>Focusing on her hearing, Nicole took a step back from the fights, letting the other officers take care of the people still punching each other to close her eyes. Above all the screams and glass breaking noises, the deputy distinguished muffled groans and what seemed to be a heated discussion, even she couldn’t get what it was really about.</p>
<p>Walking slowly, staying focused on the sounds, she started to smell that mix of alcohols and dirt her wolf instantly identified as Doc. The smell was getting stronger with each step she took, guiding her toward the counter as the fight started to finally calm down in the room.</p>
<p>The tip of her fingers brushed the door of the kitchen when another sound caught her attention, making her turn her head toward the other door, the one leading outside.</p>
<p>“You better go boys, while I let you do so,” she heard.</p>
<p>Rosita.</p>
<p>Cherry blossom and strawberry hit her nose as she directed herself to the backdoor, her hand on it as three other voices rang to her ears.</p>
<p>“Or what?”</p>
<p>“It’s not like you could actually do something, gorgeous,” a second man added, his friends sneering.</p>
<p>“I know what she could do for sure...”</p>
<p>The men then laughed, and the sound of Rosita struggling made Nicole react instantly, pushing the door open, ready to take action.</p>
<p>They didn’t see her though, as the barmaid managed to get out of one of the men’s hold, pushing him harshly before twisting the second man’s wrist, kicking him in the groin.</p>
<p>“Do not tempt me, I’m not in the mood for your little games.”</p>
<p>And she could’ve sworn the woman’s eyes glowed for a second, but it might as well have been her anger.</p>
<p>One of the man, the one who had stayed away until now, approached her with a more aggressive face, grabbing her wrist and tugging roughly, and Nicole moved.</p>
<p>“Alright gentlemen, I think it’s time to stop,” she said, her voice loud and steady.</p>
<p>The man stared at her, anger clear in his eyes, but he obeyed, letting Rosita go and taking a step back. One of his friend wasn’t in the mood to comply though, and he charged, determined to get his revenge. Nicole immediately posted herself between the brunette and the man, planting her feet firmly on the ground.</p>
<p>“Step back now, this is my last warning.”</p>
<p>“Remember what he said, don’t push now,” one of his friends said, pulling him by the arm before he could try something.</p>
<p>The words made Nicole frown, but she let it go as other sounds captured her attention inside Shorty’s.</p>
<p>“Rosita go inside, I’ll make sure they get arrested,” she ordered, positioning herself so the barmaid could go inside without problem.</p>
<p>“It’s okay, let them go.”</p>
<p>The redhead turned her head, searching for the woman’s eyes, still careful with the men standing a few feet away from them.</p>
<p>“You’re sure?”</p>
<p>Rosita nodded, adjusting her top before sighing.</p>
<p>“I’ve seen worse, I don’t care about them.”</p>
<p>“Alright,” Nicole said before turning back to the trio, “get out, now. And I’d better not hear from you again.”</p>
<p>The men started to walk away, but the way one of them smirked at her just rubbed her wolf’s fur in the wrong way, almost making her growl.</p>
<p>Deciding against her instincts, she followed Rosita back into the bar, letting her sit near the counter as she walked to the kitchen, pushing the door to find Doc sitting on the floor, blood dripping from his nose on his shirt.</p>
<p>“You’re taking way too much time, and I’m growing impatient Holliday,” a man wearing a fur coat murmured through his teeth, raising his fist.</p>
<p>“Stay away from him,” Nicole said, taking in the whole scene in front of her.</p>
<p>The man looked up at her, and the light shone strangely in his eyes as he lowered his fist slowly, taking a step back and straightening himself on his feet. The air felt heavy there, the low light putting her on edge.</p>
<p>“Of course officer,” the man smiled, taking a step closer.</p>
<p>Two men stood up at his command, letting Doc’s arms go as they stopped on either side of who seemed to be their boss.</p>
<p>“We haven’t got the pleasure to meet yet I think,” he continued, his fawning tone making Nicole grit her teeth, “Bobo Del Rey, it’s a pleasure.”</p>
<p>“What are you doing here?”</p>
<p>“I was just talking with an old friend, right Holliday?”</p>
<p>Doc grunted, wiping his nose with the back of his hand before he propped himself up slowly. Nicole looked at him, silently asking if he was okay, and the man just waved at her. Turning her attention back to Bobo, she pushed the unsettling feeling growing in her stomach and looker at him straight in the eye.</p>
<p>“Well next time, I suggest you don’t use your fists to talk, unless you want to take a trip to the station.”</p>
<p>“Oh, but I’m not sure I will have to come back and discuss the matter again.”</p>
<p>That enervating smile didn’t flatten for a second, and Nicole felt the back of her neck getting stiff from all the tension in the room. Her wolf was pushing now, growling and showing its teeth out at the stranger.</p>
<p>Clearing her throat, she showed the three men the door, watching as the two sidekicks exited, leaving her face to face with Bobo, Doc standing a few feet behind silently.</p>
<p>“It was a pleasure, officer Haught,” the man whispered, standing awfully close to her, invading her personal space, “I can’t wait our next encounter.”</p>
<p>“I hope for you there won’t be another encounter,” she almost groaned, the rumbling in her chest almost audible even as she tried to repress it.</p>
<p>“Is it a threat?”</p>
<p>“A warning, mister Del Rey. Next time I catch you breaking the law you won’t escape so easily.”</p>
<p>The man had the audacity to laugh at her face before walking away, a provocation she worked hard not to react on.</p>
<p>Choosing to focus on Doc instead, she took a breath, realizing she had hold her breath for a moment now.</p>
<p>“Well, it is a nice surprise to see you here Nicole,” the man chuckled.</p>
<p>“I would have preferred to see you in other circumstances.”</p>
<p>She smiled at the man, helping him as he walked to her, handing him a towel so he could clean himself a bit.</p>
<p>“That was a big fight,” she stated, pushing herself against the countertop, “is it always this animated around here?”</p>
<p>“I can usually handle things here, but I have to say this was a big one.”</p>
<p>Throwing the towel away, Doc then opened a cupboard, reaching for a bottle of tequila and taking a good swallow before stretching it to her. Nicole refused, shaking her head and showing him her badge with a smile.</p>
<p>“Oh excuse me officer, I guess you will have another treat from Shorty’s next time you stop by.”</p>
<p>“I’m just doing my job, no need to thank me.”</p>
<p>“Well, without your intervention I’m not sure I would still have mine,” Doc laughed, leading the way back to the bar.</p>
<p>Nicole followed him, pleased to notice the fighters had all been stopped, officers taking their identities. The room reeked even more with all the people drenched in spilled beers and shots, sweat making their clothes cling to their skins with hints of blood from their injuries, and all of this disgusting mix wasn’t helping Nicole’s wolf to calm down, not at all.</p>
<p>“Doc! What happened?” Rosita asked, jumping from her sit to examine the cut on his cheek.</p>
<p>“Have the men who were in the kitchen seen you?”</p>
<p>“I don’t think so, they just walked out with a smile on their stupid face. What did they do to you?”</p>
<p>“Rosita,” Holiday insisted, “have they seen you? It’s important.”</p>
<p>The barmaid frowned, just like Nicole who was watching the exchange with her arms crossed on her chest, trying to get as many informations as possible to understand what had happened in the bar that could’ve led to this giant mess.</p>
<p>“No they haven’t.”</p>
<p>“Good.”</p>
<p>“What’s going on Doc?”</p>
<p>The man walked around, getting his hat off of the floor and wiping the dust away from it before running a hand through his hair, putting it back on his head after. His eyes darted on Nicole for a second before they were back on Rosita.</p>
<p>“It’s nothing important,” he tried to convince her, offering her a smile and putting his hand on her shoulder.</p>
<p>“Sure, stop lying to me now, I’ve never seen such a thing here, and I’ve been working at Shorty’s for years.”</p>
<p>Rosita was growing impatient, but Doc didn’t say a thing, his eyes going to Nicole once more, and the redhead took it as a clue to go.</p>
<p>“I have to go help my colleagues, but I’ll come back later to check on you two and get your testimonies,” she said, offering them a smile before walking away.</p>
<p>Her decision seemed to ease Doc, and even if she didn’t try to listen to what they were whispering to each other, their looks and tensed shoulders gave them away. Something was clearly up, but if she wanted to know more about it she would have to be smart and patient. Gain their trust, so they would let her in.</p>
<p>“Officer, we’re going to need someone to drive those three in drunk tank, they can’t testify now, but it seems like they’ve broken this guy’s arm.”</p>
<p>Focusing back on the police officer talking to her, Nicole quickly looked at the man sitting on one of the few intact chairs in the room, his arm looking weird as emergency service entered the bar, one of them coming to examine him.</p>
<p>“I’ll take care of it, keep going with those you can interview, I’ll send everyone who’s free to get those who can’t speak for now,” she sighed, walking with one of the men to her car, two colleagues following with the others.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>The next hours were quite busy at the station, the end of her shift being far more agitated than her whole day. Nedley had come back just after she had dealt with the drunk men, putting them in the drunk tank before getting the standard procedures done for them, preparing their papers for tomorrow, when she’d be able to interview them.</p>
<p>“Already working extra hours?” The sheriff had asked, Lonnie following him.</p>
<p>“Big fight at Shorty's, they called for everyone.”</p>
<p>“Oh, so you’re already tasting our greatest events.”</p>
<p>His laugh echoed in the room as he walked to his office, getting in and out after a few minutes, approaching her as she was gathering her things, ready to go to the bar before going home.</p>
<p>“I’ve heard you did a great job there, congrats for your first day. Now go get some rest, there’s still a lot to do tomorrow.”</p>
<p>Nicole nodded with a small smile before turning her desk lamp off, her keys in one hand, almost turning around to search for her helmet before she remembered she had a car now.</p>
<p>The few minutes she spent on her own in her car, driving with the windows down were the most soothing minutes she had had today, and she resisted the urge to close her eyes to enjoy the feeling of it on her skin. The air carried that warmth scents she couldn’t quite describe but absolutely loved, and driving through the sunset was definitely one of her favorite things.</p>
<p>Weird for a werewolf to like the sun this much, she was aware.</p>
<p>Parking her car near Shorty's, she took her time to get out and readjust her uniform, rolling the sleeves of her shirt before walking in the bar.</p>
<p>And it had never smelled nicer.</p>
<p>The place was almost already entirely cleaned, which was quite impressive considering how bad things were just a couple hours ago.</p>
<p>“Hey, Nicole! I’m gonna start to think you’re working here instead of Purgatory’s police station,” greeted Rosita, her head popping up from the bar, a dustpan full of broken glass in one hand.</p>
<p>“And I’m gonna start to think about hiring you to help me with paperwork at the station if you can be as efficient behind a desk as you are in that bar.”</p>
<p>The brunette smiled at her, moving behind the bar and coming back in front of Nicole who had approached with a glass of water, her brow arched.</p>
<p>“I would have propose you a beer on any other night, but we’re out of stock.”</p>
<p>“That’s good for me, thank you.”</p>
<p>Turning on her stool, the redhead couldn’t hide the surprised look on her face. Almost of all the tables were back on their feet or replaced, all traces of broken chairs erased from sight, the smell of detergent replacing the usual mix of alcohols, sweat and vomit she had gotten accustomed to.</p>
<p>“You have to tell me what product you use for the floor, I would love to have that hint of jasmine in my house.”</p>
<p>“I can,” answered Rosita with a strange look on her eyes, “but there’s no jasmine in it.’</p>
<p>“So where does it comes from?”</p>
<p>The barmaid opened her mouth to respond, but the backdoor burst open, and Nicole’s eyes shot right in that direction as a delicate wave of jasmine, old books and drops of tequila came to her, making her mind blank.</p>
<p>“Here, I’m done with the broken chairs, is there anything else I can help you with?”</p>
<p>Wavy brown hair, sun kissed skin and a smile that could light up the whole room. Nicole couldn’t form a proper thought, and she couldn’t take her eyes away too, which seemed to amuse Rosita.</p>
<p>“It’s okay, thank you Waves.”</p>
<p>“Alright,” the woman said, her smile never leaving her lips, “I’m gonna go home then. Wynonna is probably waiting for me for dinner, and I don’t want her to burn something again. See you on Wednesday?”</p>
<p>“As always.”</p>
<p>The woman then kissed Rosita’s cheek and grabbed her purse before moving behind the barmaid, her eyes connecting with Nicole’s for a second as she walked past her, her lips curling into a small smile before she turned her head, going to the door.</p>
<p>“Alright, maybe you should close your mouth, I just cleaned the counter and I don’t need your drool all over it.”</p>
<p>Snapping back into reality, Nicole blinked a few times, clearing her throat at the amused expression on Rosita’s face. She took her time before talking, rolling her eyes at the barmaid and drinking some water before she looked back at the woman on the other side of the counter.</p>
<p>“I’m not drooling,” she defended herself.</p>
<p>“You so were, but that’s okay I won’t tell anyone.”</p>
<p>Both women chuckled at that, Nicole shaking her head as hazel eyes came back into her mind. Even her wolf was intrigued, turning around inside her to get more of that captivating scent and sight.</p>
<p>“And here I was, praising you for your efficiency as you were exploiting someone else to do your work.”</p>
<p>“She volunteered as soon as she heard about the giant mess, as we all knew she would to be honest. She might not officially work here anymore, but it never stopped her from doing some hours or evenings with me every time we needed some extra worker.”</p>
<p>“And what’s her name?”</p>
<p>“Waverly Earp,” Rosita smirked.</p>
<p>“Wait, Earp as in...”</p>
<p>“Yeah, she’s Wynonna’s little sister.”</p>
<p>“That’s...”</p>
<p>“Surprising?” She offered.</p>
<p>“To say the least,” Nicole said with her eyebrows high.</p>
<p>Rosita just laughed at her face before going back to work, leaving her alone with a lot of questions in head. Who was that Bobo Del Rey, and how him and Doc were linked? What did this town was dealing with exactly? And what was going on with all these missing pet reports?</p>
<p>But right now, her mind could only really focus on one question: how on earth could Wynonna and this beautiful woman with a gentle smile and a soft smell of jasmine be sisters?</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Hope you liked it! Let me know what you think of it, I always love to read your thoughts!<br/>You can also find me on twitter as @frenchwaves1</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0004"><h2>4. Chapter 4</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>“Shoot her.”</p>
<p>“We can’t, they’re going to search for us if we do it!”</p>
<p>“Just do what he asked for!”</p>
<p>Dark. Cold. Hard.</p>
<p>Her eyes couldn’t focus on anything, her head spinning, making it hard to remember where she was, or what had happened and what was now happening.</p>
<p>“We’ve already killed all the others, there’s no way they’re going to leave us alone now!”</p>
<p>“All the more reason to do as he said! Just think about what she could do or say if we don’t kill her too! And the boss wanted her dead, the others are just collateral damage.”</p>
<p>Trying to hold herself up, she felt intense pain in her head, the ringing in her ears so loud her head crashed against the floor once again, the impact making her sight go black as footsteps echoed around her. Panic started to grow in her chest with every second passing, her wolf pushing hard against her skin, clawing and biting its way out, making it even harder to focus.</p>
<p>A growl echoed on her chest as she started to move on the ground, trying to take in her surroundings and how many people were around her.</p>
<p>Things started to get even more complicated for her when she raised one of her hand, palm up. It had been a sunny day, not a drop had fallen on the city, yet she could feel something dripping between her fingers.</p>
<p>The metallic smell was unmistakable.</p>
<p>Blood.</p>
<p>Her bones cracked, the growl becoming louder as she managed to get on her knees, breathing hard and looking around, seeing two men standing near, guns in hands.</p>
<p>“Hurry now, she’s gonna turn into a wolf!”</p>
<p>The click rang in her ears, but nothing happened, the cartridge clip empty, and it was all her wolf needed to take the lead.</p>
<p>“Shit, give me your gun!”</p>
<p>It all happened in a few seconds, and all was blurry. She could feel herself getting up as shadows moved in front of her in a hurry, but she couldn’t hear a word the men were shouting at each other, the noise of her bones cracking piercing her eardrums.</p>
<p>Blood. Danger.</p>
<p>She crouched, ready to attack when things accelerated. She launched herself toward the men, and a detonation echoed against the walls in the streets.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Gasping for air, Nicole immediately brought her hand on her chest, just above her heart. She scanned the room in a frantic way, searching for anyone in the room.</p>
<p>But she was alone. Alone and safe.</p>
<p>“You’re okay, you’re safe, no one knows where you are,” she repeated to herself in her head, taking deep breath, letting the familiar scents of her house calm her and her wolf.</p>
<p>The latter was still looking around, pacing and groaning, trying to get out to check the surroundings.</p>
<p>Getting up, Nicole then realized her state. She was drenched in sweat, her tee-shirt clinging to her burning skin, the sheets on her bed damp.</p>
<p>Stumbling her way out of the bedroom, she headed towards the bathroom, her head feeling too light. Her eyes immediately fell on her reflection in the mirror as her hands gripped the washstand. Her hair was messy and darker than usual, the result of her nightmare, just like her glowing eyes.</p>
<p>Well, not exactly a nightmare. A memory.</p>
<p>Choosing to ignore the growl that was coming in her chest, she turned on the faucet, gathering cold water between her hands and splashing her face, sighing at the sensation. Her pulse was still high, and she needed to do something to calm down before her wolf could take the control.</p>
<p>Nothing good could happen if she gave too much space to her wolf.</p>
<p>Pushing it back roughly inside her, she rolled her head slowly, grimacing at the stiffness she could feel before she looked back at her reflection, a frustrated sigh escaping her lips as she found the still glowing pupils.</p>
<p>“Come on it’s nothing, get your shit together now,” she told herself, pushing on the washstand and straightening up, rolling her shoulders to get the nerves out of her muscles.</p>
<p>She waited a bit in the bathroom, trying the breathing exercises she’d learned a long time ago, but there was nothing that could stop this need to check the house.</p>
<p>So instead of fighting it any longer, she went downstairs, quickly putting on her sneakers before getting out of the house, taking a few steps down the driveway. The moon was high, shining bright in the cloudless sky, soothing her instantly. The air was still a bit chilly in the spring night, but she didn’t mind, quite the opposite actually.</p>
<p>Closing her eyes, she inhaled deeply, trying to find any suspicious smell around. Her wolf stilled, but there was nothing other than the usual scents, and Nicole felt it calm down slightly, staying on alert but not attacking anymore.</p>
<p>“Nice buddy,” she whispered, her fingers absentmindedly pressing against that spot on her chest before she started to walk.</p>
<p>Everything was perfectly still around her, a soft breeze gently pushing the leaves on the trees, the soft lapping from the river down the hiking trail lulling her as she reached the terrace on the back of the house. It was peaceful, the kind of calm she hadn’t experienced in a very long time, and it surprised herself how much she needed it.</p>
<p>Sure, Purgatory had its share of strangeness, but it felt right here. It had been years since she had felt this good, but it was something she was only now starting to realize.</p>
<p>“No one’s there, as expected,” she murmured, sitting on the edge of the terrace, giving herself a few minutes, looking around, smiling at the mountains piercing through the woods, their tops lightened by the stars.</p>
<p>It had been a long time since she had last been woken up by this memory, and even longer since she had reacted so violently. She could usually calm herself and her wolf quickly in her apartment back in the days she was living in the city, but maybe it was because she had gotten used to be on edge every minute spent awake back then.</p>
<p>It was probably a natural reaction after being shot and left on the ground.</p>
<p>Images from that night came back in her mind, flashes of the men standing in front of her, yelling at each other before running away, leaving her with one of the worst pain she had ever experienced ever. The smell of blood came back in her nose, and the redhead had a hard time swallowing, the metallic taste lumpy under her tongue.</p>
<p>They had left her there, half her bones broken, the bullet into her chest slowing the natural healing process of her body, her skin burning, her mind half there from the blood loss and the change that hadn’t finished.</p>
<p>It hadn’t taken long for her to pass out, but thankfully she had woken up before the ambulance and other officers had arrived, giving time to her body to heal. The only bruise that had remained was the shot on her chest, the bullet still buried inside her, but she had always been prepared for emergency cases, and luckily enough for her, it was her car they had taken to come here.</p>
<p>She hadn’t fully realized then, changing her shirt and burying the bloody one in her trunk, that she wasn’t alone.</p>
<p>More images rushed underneath Nicole’s eyelids, and her heartbeat started to quicken once more, her body growing stiff as she was fighting her panic attack.</p>
<p>Holding her head high into the moonlight, she forced herself to breath slowly, opening her eyes and putting her hands on her knees.</p>
<p>“The moon is shining, it’s springtime, I’m safe.”</p>
<p>Keeping her eyes locked on the sky, she repeated the informations over and over, inhaling through her nose and exhaling slowly through her mouth, feeling her body relaxing after a moment.</p>
<p>Feeling a bit dizzy, she didn’t try to walked around the house again, entering by the sliding door and walking her way to the kitchen and taking a tall glass of cold water, rubbing her eyes before glancing at the clock.</p>
<p>3am, she still had a few hours before she had to wake up for work.</p>
<p>Going back upstairs, Nicole quickly changed the sheets and took another tee-shirt before getting back to bed, drifting back asleep for a dreamless night this time.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Getting up with her empty cup for the second time in the morning, Nicole repressed a yawn, shaking her head before pouring herself some coffee.</p>
<p>The end of her night had been quiet, but the stress had tired her more than she would have thought. She wasn’t used to feel relaxed and to let her guard down, so the night terror was hard to take, but surely she’d get better with time.</p>
<p>“Tired Haught?”</p>
<p>Looking up, she found Lonnie standing at the door, smiling at her.</p>
<p>“I have a fitful sleep, but it’s okay.”</p>
<p>“Good, because I’ve found other archives for you.”</p>
<p>“Of course you have,” Nicole said, looking at him dead in the eyes, “why can’t I take care of the men from the fight at Shorty's? I was the one arresting them!”</p>
<p>“And that was already too much fun for a new recruit, now get back on paperwork!”</p>
<p>The man only laughed at her expression before moving to his desk, leaving Nicole with her coffee, heavily sighing at the prospect of another day sitting at her desk, typing during hours.</p>
<p>The thought alone made her want to go back to bed and sleep all day.</p>
<p>Snatches of discussion came to her ears but she didn’t register what it was about or who was talking until a flash of brunette locks passed in her field of vision, making her freeze instantly.</p>
<p>Jasmine, old books, drops of tequila.</p>
<p>“Good morning!”</p>
<p>Nicole took a few seconds to blink and move, turning her head toward the woman standing a few feet away with wavy brown hair, hazel eyes and a joyful smile on her lips.</p>
<p>“Good morning,” she finally smiled back, gaining some composure back.</p>
<p>She stayed still and silent after that, staring at her before noting the way her look drifted to the coffee pot.</p>
<p>“Oh sorry, do you want some?” Nicole offered, holding the coffee pot in front of her.</p>
<p>“Please.”</p>
<p>The redhead nodded before turning back, searching for a clean cup before filling and handing it to the woman in front of her.</p>
<p>“Is there any chance this fridge contain almond milk?” She asked quietly, half hiding behind her cup.</p>
<p>“I don’t think so, unfortunately.”</p>
<p>The brunette shrugged, taking a sip of her coffee before wrinkling her nose, making Nicole chuckle.</p>
<p>“Tell me there’s still some sugar at least.”</p>
<p>“I think we have that, yeah,” Nicole laughed.</p>
<p>It only took her a second to find it, handing a packet to the woman before drinking some of her coffee, trying to shake herself awake. The brunette thanked her with a smile, humming at the next sip she took.</p>
<p>“Better,” she nodded before opening her eyes, looking at Nicole, “Thank you...”</p>
<p>“Nicole, Nicole Haught.”</p>
<p>Offering her hand, she was surprised by the strength with which the small woman shook it.</p>
<p>“Nice to meet you Nicole, I’m Waverly Earp.”</p>
<p>“I know.”</p>
<p>The brunette’s eyebrows shot up at that, her eyes showing her surprise and curiosity as she leaned more against the countertop.</p>
<p>“Rosita told me so yesterday when you left Shorty's,” said Nicole, an amused glint in her eyes.</p>
<p>“Oh right, I knew I had seen you somewhere! Rosita told me you had just arrived into town but had already proven yourself as a competent cop, it’s nice to put a name on a new face.”</p>
<p>“Well I’m glad she deems me useful when I’m doing my job.”</p>
<p>“Trust me, it’s quite a compliment coming from her,” laughed Waverly, “And thank you, you know. For helping her.”</p>
<p>“I was just doing me job, no need to thank me.”</p>
<p>Their eyes meet again, and Nicole felt her wolf sit inside her, all the stress and tiredness forgotten as it stared back at Waverly, cocking its head on the side and blinking calmly.</p>
<p>“Speaking about that, you’re here for any specific reason? Maybe I can help you?”</p>
<p>“I’m working here actually,” the brunette answered with a small smile.</p>
<p>It was Nicole’s turn to arc her brows. She was pretty sure she hadn’t seen Waverly at the station once, and she would’ve remembered if she had come, for sure.</p>
<p>Her confusion must’ve been evident on her face, because Waverly’s smile widen behind her cup.</p>
<p>“You’re working here?”</p>
<p>“Yeah, with my sister actually. I’m part of the Black Badge Division, I’m in charge of researches.”</p>
<p>“Oh,” whispered Nicole, nodding slowly.</p>
<p>“Yeah I know, boring.”</p>
<p>“No that’s not what I meant, I’m sorry! I was just thinking how much more interesting it should be compared to spending hours on missing pets reports.”</p>
<p>“You can’t be serious,” replied Waverly, lowering her coffee.</p>
<p>“I’m starting to think Purgatory has more cats and dogs than humans inhabitants,” she joked, though the more she was typing those reports, the more she was actually starting to think it was the truth.</p>
<p>“Purgatory is a town full of surprises, you’ll see.”</p>
<p>“And here I thought moving away from the city would bring me peace and serenity.”</p>
<p>Waverly chuckled at that, which made Nicole smile a bit more, before her phone rang. The brunette took a quick look at her screen before letting out a sigh, putting it back in her pocket and grabbing her purse.</p>
<p>“I’m sorry, duty call. It was a pleasure Nicole, and good luck with your paperwork!”</p>
<p>“Likewise, see you on your next coffee break,” waved the redhead, her eyes following Waverly as she exited the kitchen, walking around the desks and heading to the B.B.D door.</p>
<p>That jasmine scent didn’t leave her until lunch break, making her administrative tasks somewhat easier to work through.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Things were calm once again today, even more so than yesterday, which wasn’t something Nicole thought could be possible. Nothing had come from the radio, not an alert or ask for backup that could get her out of her chair, and it was making her wolf irritable. Between the new environment they had to get familiar with, the bar fight and the night terror, it was getting restless, almost constantly pacing and asking to get out, occasionally growling at her to manifest its annoyance.</p>
<p>There was still the station gym for her if things were becoming too intense, but she’d rather not use it too much.</p>
<p>The less she’d work out with people around, the less there would be a risk for her secret to be out.</p>
<p>Nedley seemed to be a good man, but she couldn’t risk it, she couldn’t risk all the time she had spent to escape the city and her newfound safety with someone she barely knew, even less when that person was her boss. Maybe when she’d know him and everyone around would she divulge her true nature to him, but until then, the best was for everyone to think she was as human as them all.</p>
<p>She would have to turn and run soon to calm her wolf though, before it would get too hard to contain its aggressiveness.</p>
<p>Playing with her pen and leaning back against the back of her chair as her computer was charging a document, she browsed the sticky note Lonnie had left on the file on top of the pile sitting on her desk. Apparently no one would be there for the afternoon once again, the sheriff being out to Shorty's, Lonnie taking care of the last interviews at the hospital, which left her here, alone.</p>
<p>Well, not completely alone.</p>
<p>Nicole had glanced through her open door a few times since she had sat at her desk, but no one had come or gone out off the B.B.D room, which meant Wynonna and Dolls had left Waverly alone on her side, probably doing research while they were on the field.</p>
<p>So they were both stuck behind their desks while the other were dealing with the nice part of the job.</p>
<p>Looking at the pile of missing pet reports she had registered on the corner of her desk, she let out a sigh, frowning at the papers. No one would have time to take care of that here, unless…</p>
<p>Getting up in a swift movement, she grabbed the pile and went through it quickly, pacing in the room, trying to find a way to deal with it. She could find them by their smells for sure, but her wolf would scare them away, so she needed to find a way to catch them and get them back to their families.</p>
<p>An idea popped into her mind and she smiled to herself, walking through the station until her feet stopped in front of the B.B.D door.</p>
<p>What a way to get to know someone.</p>
<p>“Waverly?” She called after knocking, waiting behind the door.</p>
<p>Soft steps echoed on the other side, getting closer before the door opened, leaving her with the brunette standing a few feet away from her. The smell of old books was stronger there, but she could still smell jasmine.</p>
<p>“If it’s for a coffee break, I’m in,” Waverly said, a hand on the back of her neck, massaging it as she grimaced.</p>
<p>“I was wondering if you wanted to join me on a puppies hunt, but I guess we can have a coffee before.”</p>
<p>“A puppies hunt?”</p>
<p>The way her eyes glimmered with amusement and surprise made Nicole smile as she brought up the pile of missing report she was holding in her hand.</p>
<p>“No on will have time to search for them here, and I don’t know about you, but I could really use a couple hours out right now.”</p>
<p>“What about your paperwork?” The brunette asked, crossing her arms against her chest, her shoulder leaning against the door frame.</p>
<p>“Well, the quicker these cats and dogs are found, the less I’ll have to do, and I’ll be able to focus on real cases,” Nicole countered.</p>
<p>Waverly nodded, taking the papers from her hand, looking at the pictures of the lost pets, chewing her lower lip.</p>
<p>“I think some fresh air would be more than welcome, and who could say no to a puppies hunt?”</p>
<p>“So you’re in?”</p>
<p>“Give me a minute and I’ll be ready to go,” Waverly smiled.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Hi! I know, not as long as the last one, but don't worry, next chapter will be longer.<br/>I hope everyone still likes it! As always, kudos and comments are more than welcome!<br/>You can also find me on twitter as @frenchwaves1</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0005"><h2>5. Chapter 5</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>“So, what’s the plan, we just go and drive around until we find them?”</p>
<p>“We’re gonna start by going to the owner’s houses to quickly check the informations, see if their pets is still missing or not, then we’ll go and search around, find them and bring them back home.” Nicole answered, driving to the first address.</p>
<p>It was only half a lie really. They really needed to check that the pets were still missing, but it was mainly an excuse for her to get a hint of the pets’ smell so she could track them down more easily. Waverly didn’t need to know that though.</p>
<p>“It sounds easy,” chuckled the brunette.</p>
<p>“Don’t worry, I’m good at finding things.”</p>
<p>“Well I hope so, cause we have a dozen of pets wandering around.”</p>
<p>Nicole chuckled at the statement, turning on the right as they approached the first house. All she needed is to get near it, but it was suspicious, even for a cop, to just come and go like that, so she was in for a little talk.</p>
<p>“You can wait here if you want, I’ll be quick,” she told Waverly before getting out of the car, taking the missing pet report with her.</p>
<p>The brunette followed her with a smile though, looking around and closing her eyes for a second, enjoying the warmth of the afternoon as Nicole knocked. It wasn’t long before someone opened the door, looking at the women with a small smile.</p>
<p>“Good afternoon officer, can I help you?” She greeted them, adjusting her glasses on her nose.</p>
<p>“I’m taking care of the missing pets, and I’ve seen your report. We are checking if your dog is still missing, so we can go and find them if it’s the case.”</p>
<p>“You are really doing this?”</p>
<p>The tone of the old woman’s voice made Nicole's smile soften. She looked at her and Waverly with hope, and the brunette squeezed the stretched hand with gentleness as Nicole checked the date of the report.</p>
<p>“I take it you haven’t seen it since last week?”</p>
<p>“No. Charlie sprinted out the door while I was watering my plants, and I tried to call for him and walked around the neighborhood, but he never came back despite all my efforts.”</p>
<p>Nicole nodded, offering a smile at the woman as she inhaled deeply, instantly memorizing the dog’s  scent.</p>
<p>“Alright, we’re going to start the research then.”</p>
<p>“Thank you very much officer! I didn’t actually believe someone would do something about it.”</p>
<p>“We’re going to do our best to bring Charlie back to you,” said Waverly, her fingers squeezing the older woman’s ones when she reached out for her.</p>
<p>The way her eyes shone as she let Waverly's hands go made Nicole soften. She really hoped that dog was still alive, waiting for them somewhere so they could bring him back to his family.</p>
<p>Walking back to her car, she started to search for the scent, a faint trail present around giving her hope for the research.</p>
<p>“So, what do we do now?”</p>
<p>Nicole turned her head as Waverly buckled her belt, waiting for instructions.</p>
<p>“Now we search for Charlie,” she smiled, starting the car, her window down to make the tracking easier, “and we try to bring him home.”</p>
<p>Following the dog’s scent wasn’t really hard, even if it had been several days since he had been around. The trail was just there, waiting for them to follow it, but Nicole had to be careful on how she was doing it. She couldn’t just run her way through the neighborhood, sniffing around, Waverly would question her sanity at best, find her secret at worst.</p>
<p>“You’ve ever done this before? A puppies hunt I mean?”</p>
<p>The redhead chuckled, turning on the road to follow the trail as she let her eyes wander around.</p>
<p>“No, not really. Missing pets reports wasn’t really something I was working on when I was in the city.”</p>
<p>“What did you usually work on then?”</p>
<p>The conversation was nice, surprisingly so Nicole had to admit. Talking about her past life in the city wasn’t usually something that made her smile, but it was okay now.</p>
<p>“Well, all the typical things in cities: robberies, bar fights, taking drunk people out of the streets, sometimes I even worked on traffic.”</p>
<p>“Oh, that one doesn’t sound fun,” said the brunette.</p>
<p>“It’s the worst.”</p>
<p>The women looked at each other with a smirk before bursting into laughter.</p>
<p>“Well, I’m sure you’re going to do great in Purgatory, it seems like you’re ready for any type of situation.”</p>
<p>“I’ll do my best, but I have to say Purgatory’s bar fights are something else.”</p>
<p>“Tell me about it...”</p>
<p>Nicole frowned at that, before Rosita’s words came back to her mind.</p>
<p>“Rosita told me you’ve worked there before joining the Black Badge Division. How was it?” She asked, turning her head for a second as the smell became stronger.</p>
<p>Waverly moved on the passenger sit, catching Nicole’s attention as she turned her head, looking by the window, twisting her hands at the same time.</p>
<p>She opened her mouth to apologize for the question, but the brunette looked back at her, offering her a smile that didn’t quite reached her eyes.</p>
<p>“It was instructive in many ways,” she offered, chuckling as she looking ahead, “there were good things about working there. It just...”</p>
<p>“Didn’t feel like you were where you are supposed to be?”</p>
<p>Closing her mouth slowly, Waverly nodded, her hands relaxing on her lap.</p>
<p>“I know that feeling.”</p>
<p>“Do you?”</p>
<p>“Yeah,” Nicole smiled as she parked the car on the side of the road, her wolf returning to its tracking once Waverly relaxed, “but I guess it’s a story for another time.”</p>
<p>Charlie seemed to have wander a lot, given how his smell was a bit all around the place, quite confusing Nicole’s wolf for a second. They were far from his house, next to the elementary school, a playground desert on their left. A blow of wind confirmed the dog’s presence near, and Nicole smiled, hearing a small yawn from the bushes.</p>
<p>“Have you seen something?”</p>
<p>“I think so,” the redhead lied.</p>
<p>She hadn’t really thought how to justify her method to Waverly, and was only now realizing it could be dangerous for her. Maybe she could slow down the tracking, make them search in places where there wasn’t anything so she wouldn’t suspect anything, but if she did that then they wouldn’t have time to search for every pet today…</p>
<p>“Alright, let’s see if Charlie is around here then.”</p>
<p>They started to walk then, Nicole checking on Waverly every now and then as she followed the smell of the dog, trying her best not to rush toward it. She went as close as she could towards the bushes before Charlie got up, the sound of stalks cracking making her freeze. She tried to take another step closer, but a little growl warned her she had reached the limit before the dog would start feeling her wolf.</p>
<p>And that was why she had asked for Waverly to come with her on her hunt.</p>
<p>Finding dogs and cats was easy really, the hardest would be doing so while not looking like being on a hunt in the brunette’s eyes, but grabbing them without scaring them and bringing them back to their owner would be more complicated if she had to do it herself.</p>
<p>“I think I’ve found our little guy,” she called out, turning her head and pointing at the bushes in front of her as Waverly approached.</p>
<p>“How did you do that?”</p>
<p>“Do what?”</p>
<p>“Find him so fast,” the younger Earp asked, crouching to try and see the dog, her smile widening as a small bark interrupted their conversation.</p>
<p>That genuine excitement and joy made Nicole pause for a second, her eyes on Waverly’s face as she felt her own lips twitch upward. Her enthusiasm was contagious, making the redhead disconnect from their mission for a second before hazel eyes met hers, making her come back to reality.</p>
<p>“I told you, I’m good at finding things,” she simply answered, shrugging before another bark echoed.</p>
<p>Waverly let out a small laugh, turning her head back to the source of the noise, trying to approach in vain as the dog ran away a bit further, hiding under a new spot.</p>
<p>“Well, now it’s your turn.”</p>
<p>“What do you mean it’s my turn?”</p>
<p>“I don’t do really good with animals,” explained Nicole, “I tend to scare them away.”</p>
<p>Waverly looked at her with an arched brow, but the corner of her lips betrayed her amusement.</p>
<p>“You, scaring animals away? I can’t believe that,” she huffed, standing up and moving slowly towards Charlie.</p>
<p>“And why is it so hard to believe?”</p>
<p>“Because you’re a good person.”</p>
<p>“We’ve just met this morning, you don’t know that,” countered Nicole, standing just a feet behind Waverly, hoping it would somehow camouflage her scent and make it easier to catch the dog.</p>
<p>She was so focused on Charlie she almost jumped as the brunette abruptly turned around, facing her with a gentle yet determined look on her face. Thanks to years of self-control, the redhead succeeded to repress the yelp her wolf almost let out, reducing it to a small strangled noise in her throat as she mirrored her wolf’s reaction inside her, taking half a step back and tilting her head on the side slightly.</p>
<p>“I’m a pretty good judge of character, and I have good feeling about you.” Waverly said, looking at her in the eyes, “And I’m sure Charlie will feel just the same once I’ll have him in my arms.”</p>
<p>Taken by surprise, Nicole didn’t find anything to say back. The woman turned around again after a moment, calling softly for the dog as she walked towards his new hiding spot, leaving her frozen on her spot. Once again, her wolf and her had the same reaction, their eyes following Waverly, staying absolutely still a bit longer until Nicole shook her head, finally getting back to her senses and joining her.</p>
<p>“Charlie, please baby come here!”</p>
<p>The little thing moved a bit, but he stayed hidden, looking between Waverly and Nicole without knowing what to do.</p>
<p>“Try to approach him, take small steps slowly,” suggested Nicole, still standing behind her.</p>
<p>This promised to be an interesting afternoon if catching this dog was already a complicated mission. She didn’t even want to think about the moment they would have to go after a cat.</p>
<p>“Are you sure it’s you who scares animals away and not the other way around?”</p>
<p>“I’m not scared by some little pups, or by any animal.”</p>
<p>“Sure Nicole, it’s okay your secret is safe with me don’t worry,” Waverly winked, chuckling as she tried to call the dog again.</p>
<p>The redhead rolled her eyes, trying to suppress the smile growing on her lips as she monitored the dog’s movements, the poor little guy hesitating, taking one step forward and backing up on his hideout, barking at them.</p>
<p>“It’s okay buddy, you can come now, your mama is waiting for you at home.”</p>
<p>Waverly was getting closer, and Nicole tried her best not to move, making herself look as inoffensive as possible, never looking at the dog for too long to avoid making him nervous. Holding her breath as the woman stretched out a hand, she then let out a sigh of relief when Charlie started to sniff her hand before licking it, finally getting out of the bushes with a wiggling tail.</p>
<p>“Yeah, good boy!” Waverly cooed, crouching to caress the dog easier.</p>
<p>Probably encouraged by the woman’s words, Charlie barked happily, jumping and trotting around her. It only made Waverly smile even more as she played a bit with him, scratching behind his ears when he finally sat in front of her with his tongue out.</p>
<p>“What are you doing here, huh? It’s far from your home, you shouldn’t have go alone,” she continued.</p>
<p>The little German shepherd cocked his head, letting out a small yawn before getting up on his four legs, rubbing his face against her knees. Taking the advantage of the opportunity to check if the dog had any injury, Waverly smiled when Charlie put his little paws on her thigh, whining to have more caresses on his head.</p>
<p>The view was really cute, Nicole had to admit. Seeing Waverly play with the puppy and coo at him was endearing, making her smile as the brunette held Charlie in her arms, standing up with a chuckle as the dog licked her chin.</p>
<p>Her gaze found Nicole’s, and her expression softened when she realized the redhead was already looking at her. The wind carried a delicate wave of jasmine to her and she inhaled deeply, her hands on her belt as Waverly slowly walked back to her with the little dog, a cocky smile on her face.</p>
<p>“You were right to stand away, look, he’s so terrifying.”</p>
<p>“I told you I’m not scared of dogs, they are scared of me!” Nicole defended herself.</p>
<p>Her retort only made Waverly laugh, the pup joining with a little bark before she kissed it, gaining another lick on the face.</p>
<p>“I don’t know, Charlie doesn’t really seem scared of you either, are you buddy?”</p>
<p>And it was true, Nicole noticed. Waverly was standing just a few feet away, and the dog wasn’t showing any sign of distress or panic, enjoying his time with the brunette, occasionally looking at Nicole with quizzical eyes before focusing back on the human carrying him.</p>
<p>“Come here, you’ll see he’s just as okay with you as he is with me.”</p>
<p>“Wait, I’m not sure it’s a good idea...”</p>
<p>“It’s okay, he’s adorable you’ll see!”</p>
<p>“No, he’s gonna-”</p>
<p>Waverly didn’t wait for her to finish her sentence, putting the dog between her arms before she could back away, and for a frightening second Nicole froze, waiting for the dog to go crazy, be afraid of her wolf and just jump out of her arms or attack her.</p>
<p>But he didn’t.</p>
<p>Charlie stared at her right in the eyes, and they both cocked their head to the side, the puppy’s ears pricked up. He then started to sniff around, and Nicole hold her breath as if it could hide her scent from him, but the dog just let out a yawn before moving a bit in her arms, finding a more comfortable position before looking up at her, waiting to see what she would do.</p>
<p>“See, he’s fallen for your charm,” murmured Waverly.</p>
<p>Lifting her head up, Nicole smiled at her. Sure, dogs weren’t the more scared by her wolf, but it was still pretty rare for pups to be so calm around her. The satisfied expression on Waverly's face made her laugh, and she shrugged as they slowly started to walk back to the car.</p>
<p>“It’s an exception, it proves nothing. Just wait until we’re on our way for the next one.”</p>
<p>“Sure, you’re just saying that because you don’t want your uniform to get dirty on our puppies hunt,” retaliated Waverly.</p>
<p>“I absolutely don’t mind getting dirty, Charlie’s just a very courageous little boy.”</p>
<p>The German shepherd let out a small yelp at his name, making Nicole coo at him a bit more, ignoring the look the brunette gave her before opening the door of the car, letting herself fall as gently as possible on her sit, waiting until Waverly was properly installed before she moved her arms, disturbing the pup’s sleep.</p>
<p>“Here, you’re going to love sleeping on Waverly's lap I promise,” she whispered, putting Charlie in her arms so she could drive.</p>
<p>“Your mama is going to be so happy to see you again Charlie, she was really worried about you when we talked to her earlier today you know?”</p>
<p>Watching Waverly talk to the little bundle of fur, scratching his head and laughing at the little things the pup was doing was a scene she was quite happy to see, she had to admit. Enjoying the feeling of the wind through her short hair as they drove back to the owner’s house, Nicole was more than pleased to see how her wolf was behaving that afternoon. She hadn’t thought it would stay that calm, even enjoying the day after what had happened the night before.</p>
<p>Going out had certainly helped. It wasn’t the same as letting it take control and run freely, but it was still a hunt, and chasing animals around was the best impulsive idea she had had in a long time.</p>
<p>The drive back to the little house wasn’t really long, Waverly occasionally picking on her, still pretty sure Nicole was indeed scared of animals, making the werewolf laugh and roll her eyes.</p>
<p>“I tell you, just wait until the next one, I can’t be lucky enough to have two animals liking me in a row.”</p>
<p>“There’s no need to be afraid, I promise I’ll protect you,” mocked Waverly, trying her hardest not to smile at the heavy sigh the redhead let out.</p>
<p>Finally parking in front of the front gate, she then swiftly exited the car, walking around to open the door for the brunette, letting her take a few steps as she closed it. They both stopped in front of the door, and Charlie woke up as Nicole knocked, looking around with sleepy eyes.</p>
<p>“Officer, have you- Charlie!”</p>
<p>The puppy immediately recognized his owner’s voice and started to writhe in Waverly’s arms, barking loudly. The brunette handed him to the old woman standing in front of them with a smile, that smile widening as the pup greeted his owner excitedly, his little tail wiggling at incredible speed while he was licking the woman between two barks.</p>
<p>“Oh my little boy, you scared me you know, don’t ever do this again, okay Charlie?”</p>
<p>Seeing that little reunion made Nicole soften. This was why she was doing this job, and it felt nice to be reminded that what she was doing was helping. It was not always grand missions and heroic rescues, and sure it could be boring to take care of paperwork instead of being on the field, but small things meant something.</p>
<p>Those kind of mission mattered too.</p>
<p>Glancing on her side, she noted what was probably the same soft expression on Waverly's face.</p>
<p>“He didn’t go too far, we found him near the playground next to the school,” she informed the woman, “He’s not injured, we’ve checked before bringing him back to you.”</p>
<p>“Thank you so much, both of you! I didn’t think you’d really find him...”</p>
<p>“He was well hidden, but officer Haught has a gift for finding lost puppies,” said Waverly.</p>
<p>“Just be careful next time you open the door, and I’m sure everything will be okay.”</p>
<p>“I will! Thank you again for your time, I know you have lots of things to do.”</p>
<p>“It’s part of my job,” smiled Nicole before checking the time, “take care of yourself and Charlie, and have a nice afternoon.”</p>
<p>The woman smile at them, wiping her tears as they walked back to the cruiser, getting ready a new adventure.</p>
<p>“So, what do we have next?”</p>
<p>“Nova, a seven-year-old cat that disappeared four days ago,” said Waverly, her eyes going through the missing report.</p>
<p>“Oh, now you’re going to see exactly what I mean when I say I scare animals away.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Getting through all the missing reports demanded just a bit more time than Nicole thought it would have, and it was mostly because she had to slow herself down on her tracking.</p>
<p>As she had expected, cats had been harder to get than dogs. Waverly hadn’t stop making fun of her for that, but it had been a fun time running all around the city with her, trying to catch animals. For good measure, she had even got dirty, jumping on the floor to get a really sneaky bunny they had been searching for about half an hour. She had let Waverly try alone at first, but she couldn’t be fast enough to catch it, and they were running late on time at this point, so Nicole had taken charge of it.</p>
<p>It had made the brunette laugh a great deal to see her crouch on the floor, moving cautiously, using her werewolf senses to detect the small thing before jumping with both hands ahead, struggling just a bit before she had come back from the ferm, her hair a wild mess after that, but she had made it, and it was all that mattered.</p>
<p>“Alright, I think we’re all good now,” she told Waverly, handing her the bunny, its heartbeat far too high for her liking.</p>
<p>“I can’t believe you managed to find every lost pet, that’s some serious talent here!”</p>
<p>The rabbit quickly gathered itself against her chest, nuzzling her arm, almost hiding itself from Nicole. Waverly cradled it gently, petting it slowly to help it calm down as she started to turn around, ready to walk back to the car.</p>
<p>“Everyone’s got a special talent, I guess it’s mine,” joked Nicole walking alongside the brunette with a playful smile, “but I definitely wouldn’t have all these cats and dogs and bunnies back to their homes without your help.”</p>
<p>“I guess we make a good team.”</p>
<p>“I guess so.”</p>
<p>The light conversation ended abruptly though as Nicole heard a small noise, making her wolf be on watch, forcing her to stop and search for its source. Her head shot to the side as she smelled something, and her feet moved before she could start to think about it, leading her closer and closer.</p>
<p>Sniffing the air around, she moved past the trees and bushes, getting out of the woods bordering the road to end on the ditch, her car on sight further down on the other side.</p>
<p>“Nicole?”</p>
<p>“There’s something else around.”</p>
<p>“How do you...”</p>
<p>The redhead put her hand up, looking on either side, scanning the area until she found something. Waverly followed her, standing only a feet behind her as they stopped in front of a half closed box, the noise louder now.</p>
<p>Nicole crouched towards it, opening it with caution until she could see what was in there, and her heart immediately melted.</p>
<p>Struggling to stay on its feet, a kitten with bright orange fur was meowing at her, trying to get to her.</p>
<p>“Hello to you little one,” she whispered, stretching her hand to let it sniff at her, “what are you doing here alone?”</p>
<p>Moving to the side, Waverly bent over to get a better view, cooing softly and letting out a small chuckle as the kitten licked Nicole’s finger, pushing its little head against her hand.</p>
<p>“How can people do this?”</p>
<p>“I don’t know,” replied Nicole, frowning at the smell of damp card, “but I’m not leaving it here alone.”</p>
<p>Grabbing the little furry ball, she couldn’t repress her smile when it started to purr against her chest, its little paws pushing against her shirt to climb to her shoulder, meowing at her. She stared at it, petting its fur, scratching its head between its ears.</p>
<p>Even her wolf was looking at the kitten in awe, sitting with its head tilted on the side, perfectly still as the little thing closed its eyes, falling asleep in her arms.</p>
<p>“Poor baby...”</p>
<p>Tearing her eyes off of the kitten, Nicole found herself struck on again, but by another vision. Waverly was standing really close to her, her face so close she could feel her breath against her cheeks. Her eyes were on what she was holding, frowning slightly.</p>
<p>“We should go to the vet, a check-up wouldn’t hurt I think,” she suggested, looking up.</p>
<p>It took Nicole a moment to register what the brunette was saying, and she cleared her throat, blinking a few times before standing up.</p>
<p>“Yeah, you’re right. Let’s just go to this bunny owner’s first, I don’t think it’ll be able to stay near me any longer without fainting.”</p>
<p>The comment made Waverly smile as she followed her lead back to the car, struggling just a little with the rabbit as she buckled up while Nicole put the kitten in a box on the backseat, giving it one last scratch before taking her place behind the wheel.</p>
<p>Once the rabbit was back to its house, the two women went straight to the vet, Nicole taking the small thing in her arms before getting to the front desk.</p>
<p>Luckily enough there wasn’t anyone there, so the vet could take them immediately. The old man let them enter the room and asked the redhead to put the kitten on the table in the center of the room.</p>
<p>“So, what’s going on with this little thing?” He asked, putting used instruments on the sink before washing his hands.</p>
<p>“We just found it in a box on the side of the road. It doesn’t seem hurt or anything, but we don’t know how much time it spent outside.”</p>
<p>Unaware of what was happening around them, the kitten was playing with Nicole’s fingers, giving it little strokes, occasionally licking the tip of it. Nicole soon became boring to it though, and it started to walk on the table, looking around when the vet approached.</p>
<p>“Alright, we’re going to do a quick check-up then. Was it alone?”</p>
<p>“Yes, no trace of any other cat around. It seemed like its owners abandoned it.”</p>
<p>The vet nodded before checking the kitten’s eyes, teeth and paws, Waverly and Nicole standing silently, observing as he kept going. The animal tried to catch his hand at some point, running on the opposite side of the table, yowling adorably when the vet grabbed it to check its stomach.</p>
<p>“It’s a female, and it’s pretty young, just weaned. It’s a chance, usually people just get rid of the litter right after their birth. This one seems healthy, I’ll just have to get it vaccinated and it’ll be ready to go.”</p>
<p>The kitten didn’t let itself get caught that easily, and it even tried to bite the vet as he jabs it on the neck. Nicole’s wolf snarled at the sight of the needle of the syringe, and she pretended to cough to cover the low rumbling in her chest, hoping neither the vet or Waverly would pick on the sound.</p>
<p>Thankfully for her, it seemed that the kitten had monopolized their attention, and as soon as the injection was finished the little thing ran to Nicole, trying to hide under her arm, making everyone laugh.</p>
<p>“Well, it seems like it appreciates you a lot,” the man smiled, throwing the syringe.</p>
<p>“See, I knew you were lying when you said you needed me to catch animals,” murmured Waverly.</p>
<p>Nicole chuckled before turning her eyes on her, a lopsided smile on her lips.</p>
<p>“Well, maybe I didn’t need you, maybe just wanted to spend time with you so we could get to know each other for a bit.”</p>
<p>The way Waverly's lips slightly fell open and a faint blush appeared on her cheeks made Nicole's smile widen, and this smile turned into a small laugh when the brunette turned her eyes away, shaking her head with an amused look on her face.</p>
<p>“Plus you looked like you needed a break from your old books, and I definitely needed a break from paperwork.”</p>
<p>“Don’t remind me about the station, there’s just too many things I need to get done there without having anything tangible to actually progress,” sighed Waverly.</p>
<p>Nicole would’ve loved to know more about that, but the vet walked to his desk and invited them to come sit on the other side.</p>
<p>Taking the kitten in her arms again, she followed the brunette as the vet handed them papers, putting on his glasses as he prepared some more on his computer.</p>
<p>“I’ll send the bill to the animal center, just make sure they have those papers with them so they can track on the vaccines for the booster shot.”</p>
<p>Looking down at the orange furry ball on her lap, Nicole made her decision.</p>
<p>“It won’t be necessary, I’ll take her with me. You can give me the bill, I’ll pay at the front desk.”</p>
<p>The vet nodded, and as she looked on her side, Nicole saw Waverly's expression, her soft smile and bright eyes making it hard to stay unshaken.</p>
<p>“And here you were saying you didn’t do good with animals…” she murmured, rolling her eyes, her smile never fading.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Alright, stay calm now little one,” Nicole let out as she put the box on her desk, ignoring the pile of paper she had left earlier that day, “you’re not supposed to be here, and I’m not supposed to have gotten out of this chair.”</p>
<p>“Indeed, officer Haught.”</p>
<p>Nicole and Waverly both froze at the sound of the sheriff’s voice, looking at each other for a second before the redhead finally turned her head, finding him walking towards them with a coffee mug on his hand.</p>
<p>“Sheriff Nedley,” greeted Waverly.</p>
<p>The man nodded at her, before turning his attention back to Nicole, his eyes going between her and the box, his brow high.</p>
<p>“So, got called for another emergency today?”</p>
<p>Nicole opened her mouth, but the kitten meowed, making everyone turn towards the desk. Nedley approached slowly and opened the box, discovering the furry ball meowing even louder when she saw him.</p>
<p>“Well, that’s pretty unusual, even for Purgatory.”</p>
<p>“I decided to go search for all the missing pet, giving how many reports we had,” Nicole admitted, “And on our last tracking we found this stray kitten. Don’t worry, I’ve only brought her here for an hour or so, so I could finish the paperwork I have left before going home.”</p>
<p>“Officer Haught was impressive, it only took her an afternoon to find all the missing pets and get them home,” added Waverly.</p>
<p>Nicole smiled at the brunette for defending her, but her nerves quickly came back and she straightened her back, holding her breath, waiting for the reprimand that would likely come next.</p>
<p>“All the missing pets are back home you said?”</p>
<p>“Yes sir, all of them.”</p>
<p>The sheriff nodded without a word, looking at her for a moment before scanning her desk as his face remained unshaken, making her wolf whine, stressed with the lack of clear sign.</p>
<p>“Is this the last bit of archives you have to take care of?” He asked, pointing at the small remaining pile on the side of her desk, next to the box.</p>
<p>“It is. Unless Lonnie has new boxes for me.”</p>
<p>“It’s the last one. I thought it would take more time to get rid of it honestly. And you’ve taken care of the pets too, that’s some efficiency Haught.”</p>
<p>Nicole bowed her head at the compliment, her light blush hitting her cheeks. She saw the little smile Waverly addressed her as she looked back up, and it helped a bit to ease her mind.</p>
<p>“Alright,” sighed the sheriff, “next time leave a note, so I know where my deputy is when I come back to the station.”</p>
<p>“Absolutely sir.”</p>
<p>“And since you’re so quick to get rid off the boring stuff, I guess I’m going to use that brain of yours for some more serious cases.”</p>
<p>The man walk away for a moment, leaving Nicole and Waverly looking at each other and sharing the same confused expression until he came back with only a piece of paper.</p>
<p>A missing report.</p>
<p>But it wasn’t a dog or a cat on the picture this time. This missing report was one for a woman.</p>
<p>“No one heard from her in three days. Try to find her Haught.”</p>
<p>Nicole nodded, taking the piece of paper, staring at the picture. Purgatory had definitely more problems than she originally thought a small town like this one could.</p>
<p>“I will,” she let out, looking at the sheriff in the eyes.</p>
<p>He nodded at her before turning around, walking away to his office, leaving her with the missing report and Waverly.</p>
<p>“We were on the same class in middle school.”</p>
<p>“You know her?”</p>
<p>“Not really, we didn’t talked to each other back then,” answered Waverly.</p>
<p>The station doors burst open, startling the redhead as whiskey and gunpowder made her head spin a little.</p>
<p>“Baby girl, you’ll never guess what happened today!”</p>
<p>Walking in with a big smile, Wynonna stopped abruptly when she found her sister in the middle of the room with Nicole. She paused for a second, squinting her eyes at her with her mouth full of what surely was the other half of the doughnut she was holding.</p>
<p>“I feel like I’ve already seen you somewhere,” the brunette said, finally swallowing her food.</p>
<p>“Shorty’s.”</p>
<p>Nicole’s answer didn’t seem to help Wynonna a lot, if her frown was any indication.</p>
<p>“The bike that doesn’t seem ready to disintegrate,” she tried again.</p>
<p>“Oh, right! Who would have thought a narc could ride such a fine engine.”</p>
<p>“Wynonna!” Interrupted Waverly.</p>
<p>“What? Her bike really is something, old Nedley would never put his ass on it.”</p>
<p>The comment made Nicole smile, that smile getting just a bit wider as Waverly slapped the brunette’s arm, only to get an offended look in return.</p>
<p>“I’m so sorry,” Waverly apologized, glaring at Wynonna before turning to give her an apologetic smile.</p>
<p>“It’s okay, your sister’s not the first person to be surprised by me and my bike.”</p>
<p>“How do you know we’re sisters?”</p>
<p>The question came from both Earps simultaneously, making her laugh at their confused expression.</p>
<p>“I have my sources,” she shrugged.</p>
<p>“No one in this town can keep their mouth shut,” mumbled Wynonna.</p>
<p>“And I guess it’s going to be pretty helpful for me.”</p>
<p>The older sister sighed, letting her hands fall against her thighs after putting her doughnut into her mouth. It was really difficult to think her and Waverly were related.</p>
<p>“I’m Nicole Haught,” she smiled, extending a hand.</p>
<p>“You’re kidding me, right?”</p>
<p>The wide smile that spread on Wynonna’s face made her frown, that frown deepening as Waverly gave a warning glance at her sister.</p>
<p>“It’s gonna be so much fun, I’m already overwhelmed by the possibilities.”</p>
<p>“Wynonna...”</p>
<p>The woman didn’t even look at Waverly as she took her hand, shaking it quickly with that mischievous glint in her eyes putting Nicole’s wolf on edge. The childish behavior disappeared in a matter of seconds though, Wynonna clearing her throat as she straightened up.</p>
<p>“Right, there’s some… stuff we need to see, the jokes will have to wait for now,” she said before tilting her head towards the B.B.D. door.</p>
<p>“Have you found anything new for me to work on?”</p>
<p>“That’s what I’d like to see with you, but I think you’re going to like the surprise. Officer Haught,” she added before slowly walking away, waving with a chuckle before kicking the door open.</p>
<p>Waverly rolled her eyes at her sister, sighing heavily and taking a few seconds before looking back at Nicole. The redhead just waited for her to say or do something, her brows high, a faint smile on her face.</p>
<p>“I should go check on her new finding, but before that...”</p>
<p>The brunette bent over the desk, stretching her arm to get to the pens pot, taking one before moving some of her papers away to get to the map laying underneath. She searched for a moment before circling a spot.</p>
<p>“That’s where her parents live, if you need to talk to them. Good luck with your new case.”</p>
<p>Looking back at the paper she was holding, Nicole quickly regained her composure. Now was time to focus.</p>
<p>“Thank you for your help,” she smiled.</p>
<p>“Of course. You know where to find me if you need anything,” replied Waverly before waving at her, walking quickly to the room where her sister was waiting for her, a loud noise followed by a curse making her sigh once again.</p>
<p>Sitting in front of her desk, Nicole put the box with the cat on the floor, taking a better look at the map and writing informations on a sticky note for tomorrow, preparing herself for her first official case.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Here comes the puppies hunt! I hope everyone enjoyed it, it was really fun to write!<br/>Please let me know what you thought of it and what is going to happen next in your opinion, I absolutely love every comment I read.<br/>You can always find me on Twitter as @frenchwaves1</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0006"><h2>6. Chapter 6</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Nicole had always considered herself patient.</p>
<p>She had to be. You couldn’t get anywhere as a cop if you were short-tempered, and she had always taken proud into her aptitude to master her nerves and keep her head cold in tensed situation.</p>
<p>This was not something easy with a wolf inside her, but she had managed.</p>
<p>She was patient, but this case was really getting the best off her.</p>
<p>It had been a few days now, and she was stuck. She had gone to the address Waverly had shown her to talk with the parents of the missing woman, finding an old couple, completely desperate and scared. Trying to get trough her questions had been a bit difficult, her wolf feeling their distress a bit too strongly, making her want to run away, but she pushed passed its instinct, focusing on the conversation and anything they could tell her she didn’t know yet that could help her bring back their daughter to them.</p>
<p>They had reported the woman’s disappearance after she had missed their weekly lunch at their home. She had always managed to make it, and on the rare occasions she had had to go to work on the date they had agreed on, she had always texted them. This time though, she had said nothing, and she hadn’t answered her phone when they had tried to call her. The father had gone to her house, but her car wasn’t there so he assumed she had had an emergency and was working.</p>
<p>The day after, when they still hadn’t heard from her, and her car hadn’t reappeared in front of her house, they had decided to go to the station.</p>
<p>Nicole couldn’t forget the look on their face when she had thanked them for their time and answers, assuring them she would do all she could to find their daughter.</p>
<p>Kirsten was a nurse at Purgatory’s hospital, so after that first interview, Nicole had driven there. From what she had gathered from her talk with her colleagues, she was a young woman full of joy, always ready to help. It was pretty rare to hear her complain about anything, even her job, and no one seemed to hold a grudge against her about anything. She had been at the hospital the day before her disappearance and had left at the end of her shift, so there wasn’t much more to learn there that could’ve explained why the woman wouldn’t have been able to get to her parents’ house for lunch the day after.</p>
<p>After that, Nicole had wanted to go to Kirsten’s house, but had been stopped by the scientific team.</p>
<p>That was the reason why she had been held back at the station, working on the few elements she had. Everything seemed to take too much time, and it was wrecking her nerves to wait for results, files and permission to go to that damn house.</p>
<p>That woman had been missing for too long, and she knew more than clearly that in that case, every hour that passed was giving her less chances to find her alive.</p>
<p>So, trying to stay as patient as possible given the circumstances, Nicole did her best, working on the telephone call record log, noting the most frequent numbers so she could call and hopefully find useful informations.</p>
<p>She was actually leaving a voicemail to the last person Kirsten had called when a key fell on her desk.</p>
<p>“Here, you have the green light to go to the house.”</p>
<p>“Where’s the report?” she asked, looking up at Lonnie.</p>
<p>“There’s nothing.”</p>
<p>“What do you mean there’s nothing?”</p>
<p>“They are writing it, but the head scientist said they hadn’t found anything. From what they know, she might haven’t made it home before disappearing,” the officer told her.</p>
<p>Nicole sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose. It was in these moments she regretted not telling Nedley what she could do, how she could probably have made major progresses if she had been able to get to that house earlier…</p>
<p>“Thank you for the key, I’m gonna go check by myself, maybe they missed something.”</p>
<p>Lonnie nodded before going to his own desk, leaving her with her case. The redhead didn’t lose time on her chair, grabbing the key her colleague had dropped on her desk, ready to finally progress on that case.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Everything seemed unmoved, laying perfectly still, not a piece of furniture or object moved strangely, and it was what was the strangest.</p>
<p>The car hadn’t reappeared, but nothing else was missing there, or so it seemed. There was no evidence of struggle around, but Nicole’s wolf almost made her take her step back when she entered the house. The smell of detergent was strong, really strong, and it all looked too clean, almost as if no one ever lived here.</p>
<p>The living room had been cleaned by whoever had kidnapped Kirsten, she was sure of it.</p>
<p>“Come on, they must’ve left something, they always do,” she murmured to herself, walking further into the house.</p>
<p>Nicole stopped near the couch, something making her tick as she walked by, and she crouched to the floor, inhaling deeply, grimacing at the sour smell of detergent, doing it once again to make sure she have smelled right.</p>
<p>Blood.</p>
<p>It was faint, barely even there, and she could’ve missed it if she wasn’t used to that metallic scent.</p>
<p>Walking fast to the jacket put on the back of a chair, she inhaled, a small growl rising in her chest. There was no doubt, the blood she had smelled was Kirsten’s.</p>
<p>So something had happened there, her kidnapper had attacked her in her house, she had tried to escape them in all likelihood, ending up injured. Before leaving with her though, they had made sure to clean everything, making it look like nothing ever happened in this house.</p>
<p>Nicole wasn’t surprised the scientific team hadn’t found anything, even her with super senses had almost missed it.</p>
<p>The news wasn’t really joyful. Whoever had kidnapped that woman was smart, and they knew what they were doing, which only made Nicole’s wolf angrier. Obviously this person knew what they were doing, if there weren’t even multiple people involved, and it put more weight on her shoulders knowing that.</p>
<p>Scratching the back of her neck and rolling her shoulders, she then explored the rest of the house, trying to find any hint of who had kidnapped Kirsten, anything that could guide her in her research.</p>
<p>Finishing her inspection, she took a minute to look at the papers in the office. A calendar pinned on the wall had “night out” written on the date of her disappearance, but it didn’t mentioned where.</p>
<p>Her phone rang while she was looking at the calendar, trying to find a place she would go regularly and that could’ve been the one she was at before coming home.</p>
<p>“Officer Haught.”</p>
<p>“A woman called at the station, she said you had tried to contact her about Kirsten. They were out at Shorty's together the night she disappeared, but she said her friend had stayed longer than her there.”</p>
<p>“Alright, I’m done with the house so I’ll just head there on my way back, thanks for calling.”</p>
<p>“Did you find anything new?” Asked Lonnie.</p>
<p>“Not really. It looks really clean though, too clean, and you can smell detergent absolutely everywhere in the living room.”</p>
<p>“So you think she was kidnapped at her house?”</p>
<p>“Probably. I’ll tell you more about it once I’m at the station,” Nicole said before hanging up.</p>
<p>Looking around one more time before she closed the door of the office, the redhead let out a sigh, running a hand across her face.</p>
<p>Shorty's, again.</p>
<p>Why did everything in this town had to deal with this bar?</p>
<p>Walking downstairs fast, she closed the door and took a few steps before froze. Looking around sniffing the air, she frowned. There was no trace of Kirsten, nothing, not even a faint scent.</p>
<p>Nicole’s heart stopped for a second, her mind starting to go incredibly fast, but she shook her head, going back to her car.</p>
<p>There was absolutely no way this could be possible, so she had to keep a cool head and keep going on her investigation.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>The bar had already regained its usual scent, to her great displeasure.</p>
<p>There were customers sitting at different tables and playing pool game or drinking around, talking and laughing loudly. The counter was empty though, which was absolutely perfect for Nicole.</p>
<p>“Good evening, officer Haught,” greeted Rosita before turning around to face her, putting her dish towel on the counter.</p>
<p>“You know when it’s me without seeing me?”</p>
<p>“I recognized your footsteps.”</p>
<p>“You could hear it with all the noise around?” Asked Nicole, quite impressed.</p>
<p>The barmaid shrugged and nodded before yelling at two men who were starting to argue a bit too vigorously to her liking. It didn’t take much time for them to calm down, one of their friend stopping them, making them go out to get some fresh air.</p>
<p>“Impressive.”</p>
<p>“It works, most of the time. It’s something Doc is quite grateful for,” the brunette smiled.</p>
<p>“Speaking of Doc, do you know where he is? I need to talk to you both.”</p>
<p>Rosita frowned at her words, the absence of smile on the redhead’s face making her straighten up. She nodded and looked around, searching for the man in the bar. It only took her a whistling to draw his attention from the other side of the room, and he nodded at her when she gestured for him to approach, taping his hat at the clients he was sitting with before walking to them.</p>
<p>“Officer Haught,” he greeted Nicole, “Can we offer you a drink? To thank you from helping last time.”</p>
<p>“I’ll take that offer another time, I’m on duty, and I have to talk quickly with you two.”</p>
<p>Turning his head towards Rosita, Doc subtly asked her what it was about, a slight frown on appearing on his face, but the brunette shook her head. He then turned back to Nicole, glancing above her shoulder before leaning closer, his forearms laying against the counter.</p>
<p>“Do we need to move somewhere more private?” He asked, his voice barely audible.</p>
<p>“Here’s fine, it’s nothing about Shorty’s if that’s what you’re thinking, well, not directly.”</p>
<p>Confusion mirrored in her interlocutors’ eyes, and she put her hand on the inside pocket of her jacket, fumbling a little before she could feel the glossy paper against her finger. She tugged at it and put the picture on the bar, pushing it towards them, looking at them closely as Doc took it between his fingers, his brows high.</p>
<p>“Do you know this woman?”</p>
<p>“Kirsten, she’s a regular here on lunch time for coffee.”</p>
<p>“Always there at least two Saturdays a month, and always ordering a gin tonic,” added Doc, setting the photo on the counter.</p>
<p>“So you saw her last Saturday?”</p>
<p>The man nodded, and Nicole took note of the information, her brain trying to make deduction as fast as possible. The friend who had called back hadn’t lie, that was a good start.</p>
<p>“Was there someone with her? I know she came here with a friend, but that friend said she left earlier.”</p>
<p>Rosita looked down at the picture, her face showing her focus, trying to remember the night probably. She frowned and chewed at her lips before snapping her fingers, letting her hand fall against the wooden surface.</p>
<p>“A man tried to approach her and flirt, but she rejected him. I remember that cause he insisted, and I was ready to step in when he finally let go, another guy pushed him away, and Kirsten accepted the drink he handed her, and I think they left Shorty's together.”</p>
<p>“Could you describe what that man looked like?”</p>
<p>“It was probably the first time he was here, as tall as Doc, but with really short hair and a stubble. Brown eyed.”</p>
<p>Nicole noted everything, feeling her heartbeat slightly increasing at the informations. She had a lead now, that man could be the one that had kidnapped Kirsten.</p>
<p>“Anything else?” She inquired, looking up at Doc and Rosita, ‘Do you remember at what time they left?”</p>
<p>Doc shook his head, offering her an apologetic glance.</p>
<p>“I’m afraid I was too intoxicated to register anything at that time.”</p>
<p>“There was still a lot of people, so it couldn’t be that late, I’d say something between midnight and one.”</p>
<p>An other precious information.</p>
<p>“Alright, if you remember anything, call me please. It’s important,” she said before standing up.</p>
<p>She was about to turn around and leave, but a tug at her jacket stopped her. Half-turning over the counter, she saw Rosita’s hand on her, half hunched over the bar.</p>
<p>“Nicole, what’s happening?”</p>
<p>Letting out a sigh, the redhead quickly checked around, searching for anyone eavesdropping, only to find noisy men drinking their beer and woman chatting around a table or dancing in the corner to the low music.</p>
<p>“Kirsten disappeared that night, and no one had heard from her since then.”</p>
<p>Something changed in Doc’s face, but Nicole wasn’t quick enough to place it. She stilled there, staring at him, sniffing around, but she didn’t smell anything else other than the mix of alcohol and dust her wolf had associated with him.</p>
<p>“Just keep an eye open, and call me if you remember anything.”</p>
<p>Both Rosita and Doc nodded, and Nicole exited the bar, going back to the station with the new informations. It wasn’t much, but it still was something, and she had to go and see if this couldn’t lead to something else, or someone.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Pushing the door with just a bit too much of strength, Nicole entered the station, taking long steps to get to her desk. In her hurry, she almost ran into one of her colleague who was leaving for an intervention. Excusing herself, she took a deep breath to calm her nerves, feeling her wolf push her to go faster, pulling at her to let her instincts do the job for her.</p>
<p>“There’s no lead to track, calm down now,” she murmured to herself, closing her eyes for a second.</p>
<p>The annoyed grunt she felt inside could have made her laugh, if the circumstances were different.</p>
<p>She was about to resume her walk, when a sigh came to her ears, jasmine guiding her feet through the corridor. She almost did it unconsciously, her mind stopping for a moment, offering her a break from all the investigation.</p>
<p>She stopped at the B.B.D. door which was half opened, letting her see part of a table with papers spread on it, and knocked, waiting to be allowed in before pushing it.</p>
<p>“Hey,” she smiled as her eyes met Waverly's.</p>
<p>“Hey, come in! Aren’t you done with your day?”</p>
<p>“I could ask you the same question, but it’s pretty clear you’re far from done.”</p>
<p>The table was fully covered with papers of all sorts, old books opened a bit everywhere in the room, the whiteboard in front of that table full of handwritten notes and pictures, sticky notes scattered all around. It both looked as if a storm had thrown all sort of things everywhere in the room and extremely ordered, something Nicole didn’t think she’d ever see.</p>
<p>“Wynonna keeps bringing new things for me to work on, but they don’t make any sense, and the more I have, the less I understand,” sighed the brunette, letting herself fall into her chair.</p>
<p>“I kind of get that, but I’m pretty sure you’ll do fine.”</p>
<p>“What about you? How’s your case going?”</p>
<p>Nicole hold up her small notebook, making a face at how little informations were written down the page.</p>
<p>“I’m making progresses, but it’s far from enough. It’s super frustrating, but I’m getting there.”</p>
<p>Waverly nodded with a small smile, sipping at her tea, her eyes staying on her for a few more seconds before she looked back at her researches. Nicole followed her glance, and she took a step closer to the table, taking a look at the notes the younger Earp had made a bit everywhere, some additional sticky notes being attached to files, books and other papers. It looked gigantic, and she didn’t really understand what it was exactly about, but a piece of paper in particular drew her attention.</p>
<p>“Oh, I didn’t know you were working on historical usurpations and fake deeds of property,” she said, holding the sheet closer to her eyes.</p>
<p>“Fake deeds of property?”</p>
<p>Getting up again, Waverly approached her, her brows furrowed as she inspected the piece of paper before looking back at Nicole.</p>
<p>“Yeah, it’s a fake one, and I’m pretty sure most of the ones you have on that table are actually.”</p>
<p>“How do you know?”</p>
<p>“Well, first of all, this one doesn’t smell like old paper, and you see the see the signature here? If you look at it very closely, you’ll see pixels,” Nicole answered, pointing at the signature on the corner, angling the sheet so the light would make it easier for Waverly to see it, “it’s a good imitation, could have fooled me if I hadn’t paid attention.”</p>
<p>Taking a magnifying glass, Waverly looked at where she was pointing, taking a few seconds to inspect the deed of property, before she let her glance slide down, shifting quickly as she started to murmur, talking to herself as she moved papers on the table frantically before one of her hand found Nicole’s forearm, holding tightly</p>
<p>“Fake, of course, half of this is fake!” she exclaimed, a big smile shinning on her face.</p>
<p>“I guess it makes sense for you,” chuckled the redhead.</p>
<p>“It absolutely does! Thank you so much Nicole, you don’t know how much you’ve helped me right now.”</p>
<p>“Well, at least one of us is about to wrap her case.”</p>
<p>The noise Waverly let out made her smile, and for a second she forgot about all the problems and stress she had accumulated the past few days, letting the Earp’s joy infect her.</p>
<p>Waverly rushed through the room, almost running out calling out for her sister, and Nicole didn’t even have time to get to the door that she was back alone, almost knocking her off of her feet with her speed.</p>
<p>“I’m sorry, I just need to find her quick,” said Waverly with an apologetic smile.</p>
<p>Nicole released her grab on the woman’s arms, holding back a laugh at the euphoria and buzzed energy Waverly was radiating. She hadn’t even registered the redhead had hold her, until her hands left her, and she looked down, a light blush on her face. Her smile stayed though, and it was contagious.</p>
<p>“I’ll let you deal with your case, I have to go back to mine,” Nicole whispered.</p>
<p>“Yeah.”</p>
<p>Waverly's answer was barely a breath as she looked back up into Nicole eyes, staying in front of her for a few more heartbeats before blinking and shaking her head, moving away from the doorway. The redhead gave her one of those smile that made her dimples pop out before licking her lower lip, lowering her head before her feet started to move, finally guiding her back to work.</p>
<p>Just before she turned to walk down the corridor, Nicole looked into the room, and the sight of Waverly with her phone pressed against her ear, her foot taping the floor with impatience until her interlocutor finally picked up made her chuckle.</p>
<p>“Wynonna! You’ll never guess what I just learned thanks to Nicole, the- wait what? What did you do?”</p>
<p>The look of confusion on her face made Nicole laugh openly this time, and she waved at the brunette before closing the door, going back to her desk to see if she could find who that mysterious guy Kirsten had last been seen with could be.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Things are getting serious for Nicole! And what is the BBD working on?<br/>Let me know what you think of this chapter, every kudo and comment make my day a lot better!<br/>As always, you can find me and talk to me on Twiter as @frenchwaves1</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0007"><h2>7. Chapter 7</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>May was now ending, and Nicole was feeling more frustrated with every day passing, getting to the point where it was honestly beginning to hurt her physically.</p>
<p>Her wolf sensed her frustration and was only making it worse, pushing her, clawing, snarling, pacing, always trying to come out, as if it could be of any help.</p>
<p>The redhead had constant headaches just pushing it back, caging it vigorously, swallowing every growl that threatened to come out every time she ended up stuck on her case, which was pretty much all the time now.</p>
<p>She had tried everything, search everywhere, occasionally helped by Waverly who seemed to know every corner of Purgatory and its lands. Having her pass by her desk or offering her a cup of coffee every now and then was helping her to stay sane, and it was pretty much the highlights of her days, but every time she had a new empty report, or the lead she was following ended up as a dead end she could feel her anger rise, boiling inside and nourishing her wolf, giving it more strength to attack her, trying to get passed that human body that restrained it.</p>
<p>So far, Nicole had held it together, giving her best to the investigation, working passed her shift everyday in hope she would get something.</p>
<p>But today, she decided to let go.</p>
<p>She had been tossing and turning in her bed for hours, her brain getting over every detail of the case again and again, and it was just too much. She needed to calm down, to release some tension, and if it meant turning into a wolf, then so be it.</p>
<p>“Alright,” she sighed angrily, throwing the sheets away and walking fast into the room, “you won, let’s get out for a bit now.”</p>
<p>Taking the stairs two by two, she went straight to the backdoor, stepping on the terrace, quickly glancing around to make sure no one was there before she went back inside, taking off her clothes, throwing them on the couch before getting outside with quick steps, feeling her heartbeat speeding up, her bones cracking.</p>
<p>Letting out loud groans, she kept going, grimacing at the pain. It had been too long, her body wasn’t used to the turn anymore.</p>
<p>She kept walking towards the woods until her legs gave up, letting her fall on all fours, then it was all over.</p>
<p>The pain, the cracks, the frustration, it was all gone in a second, and she started running.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Nicole had to admit it, it had felt great.</p>
<p>Feeling the wolf strength, its legs pushing hard to get faster, sure of every step during its run thanks to its sight and sense of smell, guiding them without any problem was something she had missed more than she had realized. It had been so long she couldn’t remember the sensation of the wind against the fur, the acuteness of the beast making the world ten times more vivid around her, submerging them both with so many sensations it had made her feel dizzy.</p>
<p>Things felt easier when she let the wolf take the lead. All her problems, the thought running constantly through her head, all this feeling she usually repressed, all vanished the moment she turned into that wolf.</p>
<p>There were only instincts when it took control. Instincts, sensations, basic needs, that was all.</p>
<p>Nothing felt like running into the woods through the night, and nothing could sooth her like giving into that bestial side of her did.</p>
<p>The pain though, Nicole hadn’t thought that turning after months caging her wolf would hurt like it did. There was a time when she could hear and feel her bones crack without even blinking, but it seemed like her body was quick to forget what it was like.</p>
<p>Walking back through her backyard with the sunrise, she stirred her arms, wincing at the sore muscles. The wolf had pushed itself quite hard during hours, not holding back at all, and she was feeling the aftermath now, just like after a good workout session.</p>
<p>Pushing the door open, the redhead was welcomed by loud meowing, a flash of red fur entering her field of vision.</p>
<p>“Hey, morning little one,” she chuckled, careful not to kick the cat as she rubbed herself against her legs, her face turned up, looking at Nicole.</p>
<p>She still couldn’t believe that she had adopted a cat, or rather that a cat had adopted her. They usually ran away at her sight, but no, not this one.</p>
<p>“What is it CJ? Want something?”</p>
<p>The cat was still on her heels as she reached the living room, grabbing her tee-shirt and shorts and putting it on quickly before crouching to the cat, smiling when her little friend put her paws on her knees, licking her hand.</p>
<p>“Hungry aren’t we?” She asked.</p>
<p>Calamity Jane pushed her nose against her hand, meowing louder, and Nicole laughed, petting her for a bit before she stood up, looking at the clock on her way to feed her furry friend.</p>
<p>“Oh shit, hurry up Calamity, I have to get ready for work quick now,” she cursed, realizing she was supposed to be at the station in half an hour.</p>
<p>Rushing upstairs once the cat was busy with her bowl, she stopped for a minute in front of the mirror, wrinkling her nose at her reflection. The dark circles under her eyes were a proof of how bad she was sleeping these days, and getting out last night hadn’t help that.</p>
<p>“Let’s hope the shower will help...”</p>
<p>It wasn’t time to relax so Nicole showered fast, enjoying the warmth of the water easing the soreness of her body. She barely took time to dry her hair, jumping into her uniform before going downstairs to the kitchen, drinking her coffee quickly, burning her tongue doing so before grabbing her keys, hurrying to her car.</p>
<p>All this running wasn’t useless though, as she passed the station doors right on time. The sheriff was already here, she had seen his car parked before getting in, and Lonnie was already out from his night shift, so she would spend the morning alone, probably.</p>
<p>Nicole walked straight to the locker room, trying not to be seen by her boss in her wrinkled shirt she hadn’t ironed last night, the last clean one she had at home. Thankfully she had one waiting for her here, and once she’d be changed she’d be good to start the day.</p>
<p>Too focused on her thoughts and the case waiting for her, she didn’t hear the muffled noises coming from inside the room, and the redhead ended up almost knocking Waverly over.</p>
<p>“I’m sorry, I didn’t know there was someone here I...” She started, before looking at the woman.</p>
<p>The rest of her apology vanished in her mind, as she acknowledged in which state Waverly was. Her eyes quickly scanned the brunette before shooting up to her face, or rather the tee-shirt she was struggling to take off and that was covering her face.</p>
<p>“Nicole, is that you?”</p>
<p>“Need help?” Asked the redhead, trying her best to suppress her chuckle.</p>
<p>A small groan echoed in the room, followed by a small ‘please’, making her smile wider as she grabbed the piece of cloth, tugging at it gently until she could see Waverly's face.</p>
<p>“There, better?”</p>
<p>“Yeah, thank you,” smiled the Earp, “I don’t know how much time I would’ve spend stuck like that if you hadn’t show up.”</p>
<p>She looked at Nicole in the eyes with that sweet smile, a light blush on her cheeks, and it was all it took to take her breath away.</p>
<p>It was terrifying, how easily she could do that to her.</p>
<p>“So...”</p>
<p>“Yeah...”</p>
<p>Nicole took a deep breath to regain her composure, which wasn’t the best idea considering how the smell of jasmine made her head feel light, clearing her throat and looking away from the younger Earp, trying to focus on what she had to do that day instead of the woman standing in front of her with no shirt on.</p>
<p>“I should have knocked, I wouldn’t have entered like that if I had known you were changing,” Nicole apologized, running a hand on the back of her neck.</p>
<p>“It’s okay, really, and the locker room is for everyone.”</p>
<p>She nodded before looking down, finally remembering why she had rushed into the room in the first place.</p>
<p>“Right, and I really need to change my shirt before going back to my case.”</p>
<p>Waverly nodded before looking at her tee-shirt, her blush deepening as she realized her state. She then quickly opened her locker, half hiding behind the door as she grabbed a new tee-shirt, and Nicole took it as a chance to do the same, unbuttoning her shirt and throwing it in her locker.</p>
<p>The way Waverly glanced not so subtly towards her made her smirk, but she stayed quiet, buttoning her ironed shirt before closing her locker door.</p>
<p>“Do you need my help on something? Wynonna's out for the day, she’s following a lead with Dolls so there’s not much I have to do today.”</p>
<p>“Well, I still have to study the details of the last building you pointed out, but I know where to find you if I have any question,” Nicole answered, offering a small smile to the brunette as she finished tucking her shirt in her pants, closing her locker door.</p>
<p>Waverly nodded and smiled back at her, but that smile slowly turned into a frown as she studied the redhead’s face.</p>
<p>“What do you say about drinking a coffee with me before jumping on that case? You seem a bit tired, and I know you’re working really hard on it, I’ve seen you way too many times on your desk when I was leaving the station these last few days.”</p>
<p>Her wolf pushed gently inside, its head tilted, eager to spend time with Waverly, and Nicole’s smile softened. It had become a habit for them to gather around a cup of coffee to talk and relax just for a bit, and she had to admit those moments helped her to keep her wolf in check.</p>
<p>But more than a benefit for her wolf, Waverly's company was something she personally appreciated.</p>
<p>“Alright, let’s get this coffee.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Hours passed, and the station stayed awfully quiet, which was deafening to Nicole in one of the most horrible way possible. She had spent most of her time doing research on that old depot, trying to find the owner of it, and what purpose it served now, but for some reason she couldn’t explain, she couldn’t get anything about it. It was almost as if this place was abandoned and had been this way for a really long time, which wasn’t encouraging at all.</p>
<p>Nedley had spent his lunch break with her, and she had asked him about that depot, but he didn’t have a lot to say about it, although she learned that it was sometimes used by some companies to stock their trash or excess before it could be dealt with by specialized societies or used on other projects.</p>
<p>There wasn’t more to work on, and nothing up until then really made sense, driving Nicole into a corner.</p>
<p>She had worked on some similar cases back in the big city, and had managed to solve almost all of them.</p>
<p>All, except one.</p>
<p>That case was reminding Nicole a lot of things she wished she could forget, and she had that gut feeling that something was really wrong with this disappearance, something wrong and familiar, pushing her to work harder, to go faster on her investigation. She could hear the tic of the clock, almost mocking her for every second passing without any progress on her side, reminding her every second that a woman was waiting somewhere, waiting for her to find her and get her back to safety, and failing her like she was was beyond words for the officer.</p>
<p>“Nicole?”</p>
<p>Jumping on her chair as a small hand rested on her shoulder, she snapped her head to the side, finding Waverly standing there, looking at her worryingly.</p>
<p>Letting out a long sigh and pinching the bridge of her nose, Nicole gave herself a second to calm down, coming back to reality. The warmth on her shoulder disappeared, and she opened her eyes to find the brunette holding her hands against herself as if she had burnt the redhead, chewing at her lower lip.</p>
<p>“I’m sorry I scared you, but you seemed… I don’t know, I was just passing and heard something, and you didn’t look okay.”</p>
<p>“Don’t worry, it’s nothing,” quickly assured Nicole, “I was just lost in my thoughts, nothing to worry about.”</p>
<p>“This case, it looks like it’s really affecting you.”</p>
<p>She didn’t answer, clenching her jaw at the comment. She had to calm down and get her shit together before it could get out of proportion, and she had to do so quick.</p>
<p>“I just really want to find her, and it’s been weeks now, and I feel like I’ve made absolutely no progress since the beginning.”</p>
<p>“Don’t be too hard on yourself, you’re doing everything you can...”</p>
<p>“But it’s not enough!”</p>
<p>Waverly froze, and it made the redhead feel even worse. It wasn’t fair of her to yell at the person who had helped her the most since the beginning, and the person who was only trying to make her feel better.</p>
<p>“I’m sorry, I shouldn't have yelled at you. You’re right, this case, it reminds me of-”</p>
<p>The screen of her phone lightened up, and she immediately took it in her hand, picking up on Lonnie’s call.</p>
<p>“Do you have something new for me to work on?” She immediately asked.</p>
<p>“I need you to come to the depot we’ve talked about.”</p>
<p>“Oh, I was about to go there anyway so...”</p>
<p>“There’s a body.”</p>
<p>Nicole stilled at the words, her hand clenched on the keys she had just grabbed. Her heart stopped as she properly registered the information, and something must’ve shown through her face, because Waverly took a step towards her. She reached out for her but the redhead moved away, her eyes still unfocused as she spoke on the phone.</p>
<p>“Is it her?”</p>
<p>“I think so,” Lonnie told her.</p>
<p>“You think so?”</p>
<p>“I can’t be sure, that’s why I need you here. It’s a woman, but I can’t see her face.”</p>
<p>“I’m on my way.”</p>
<p>Not even looking at Waverly, she walked straight to her car, ignoring the woman calling for her in her back, driving as fast as possible to the address Waverly had given her, the address she had wanted to go to earlier but had pushed later to try and find other informations before going there.</p>
<p>Night was falling as she parked next to Lonnie’s cruiser, and her heart started to beat faster on her chest as she walked towards the building, the warm air and smell of the fields around failing to make her relax.</p>
<p>The more she approached, and the stronger the scent of death was invading her nostrils, making her wolf nervous. Death meant danger, and it was quite triggering to the animal since what had happened that one night months ago…</p>
<p>“Lonnie?” She called, squinting her eyes to see him.</p>
<p>“Right here!”</p>
<p>Following the sound, she ended up standing next to her colleague, her jaw clenched and a deep frown on her face. Taking a deep breath, she switched her light on and looked towards the direction Lonnie pointed at.</p>
<p>A woman’s corpse was laying on the grass, not far from the wall of the depot.</p>
<p>Taking a few steps towards it, Nicole took a deep breath, and the smell gave her the answer she had dread since the other officer had called her. She bent down, praying that for once her wolf was wrong, in vain.</p>
<p>“That’s her, that’s Kirsten,” she let out after looking at her face for a second.</p>
<p>That news alone was hard to swallow, but the state of the woman’s body made it even worse.</p>
<p>“Call the morgue, we’re gonna need an autopsy.”</p>
<p>Lonnie nodded and went back to his car, letting her alone with the body. There were multiple lacerations on her back and arms, and Nicole could only imagine what her chest looked like.</p>
<p>She hadn’t just been killed, she was the victim of a massacre.</p>
<p>The person, if it could be called that, hadn’t just taken her life, it had done it brutally, leaving deep cuts and bruises all over her body. Only her face had been spared, more or less. There were traces of scratch on her neck and the side of her face she could see, even it it wasn’t as bad as the ones on her body.</p>
<p>The redhead could feel a mix of emotions awakening inside her, but she pushed them down roughly, focusing on the proof of her failure laying in front of her.</p>
<p>Because that was exactly that. She had failed that woman, and she had paid with her life for it. She had been too late, Nicole repeated to herself over and over again, she had been too slow on her investigation. If only she had come here earlier instead of searching for useless informations about the depot, maybe then she would have been able to save Kirsten.</p>
<p>“An ambulance is on its way to transport the corpse,” said Lonnie once he was back.</p>
<p>“How do you find her?”</p>
<p>“A farmer called Nedley while he was going back to his house after spending the day in the fields, saying there was something wrong near the depot, cause there were a lot of crows around.”</p>
<p>“Was it a long time ago?” She asked.</p>
<p>“Around an hour.”</p>
<p>Nicole nodded, running a hand on her face before getting up. She could have been there before anything happened to her.</p>
<p>The two officers waited until the ambulance was there, Nicole being quiet while they took care of the body, watching as they put it on its back. Seeing the blood-drenched tee-shirt torn apart, deep lacerations visible across the chest was like being punched, but she kept her eyes on it, letting the image sink in, taking in every detail.</p>
<p>They took it to the ambulance and closed the door, getting ready to leave as Nicole finally turned her head away, watching as the scientific team was already working on the perimeter, trying to gather every possible evidence, crouched on the floor. She took in the scene, looking carefully, using her every senses to make sure she wouldn’t miss a single clue, but just like when she had stepped outside Kirsten’s house, she was confronted to nothingness.</p>
<p>There was absolutely no trace of a single soul here, nothing but the blood and scent of the woman who had been killed while she was trying to find her.</p>
<p>“I’m getting back to the station,” she let out, not even caring to see if Lonnie had heard her before she turned away, slamming her car door before getting back to the main road.</p>
<p>She held the steering wheel so tightly her joints were turning white, but it didn’t really matter.</p>
<p>Trying to focus on the road, Nicole could only see the images of that dead body, the violence with which she had been killed, how much pain that woman might have felt, after weeks spent held captive.</p>
<p>Thinking about all this time, she couldn’t help put imagine the worst scenario. Who knew what the person who had kidnapped her did to her before killing her? Had Kirsten spent days and days in pain, pleading for it to stop? Had she suffered all this time? Or had her jailer treated her nicely until today, taking her by surprise with an abrupt and ferocious attack?</p>
<p>So many questions were going around her head she couldn’t even say how she had managed to get back to the station without having an accident.</p>
<p>Her cruiser parked, she took a moment to breath, closing her eyes and putting herself back together. She had to regain composure if she wanted to be of any use on this case, and if she couldn’t bring this woman home, she would make sure her murderer would spent his life in jail.</p>
<p>Finally getting out of the car, she entered the station, a bit taken aback by the agitation around. Nedley was talking with Dolls and Wynonna near his office, a few officers taking care of a group of drunk people at the same time, making it hard to hear what the conversation was about. She walked further into the room, passing the reception and putting her keys down on her desk, taking down her jacket and putting it on the back of her chair before the drunk guys were finally out to the drunk tanks, to her ears greatest pleasure.</p>
<p>“Haught, come here please,” the sheriff called.</p>
<p>Turning her head, she saw him standing with the two others, opening the door of his office and letting them in before looking at her, waiting for her to follow. Nicole didn’t waste time, she headed towards him, barely looking him in the eyes as she entered the room, feeling her wolf starting to pace, uneasy by having so many people near her right now.</p>
<p>“I’ve been informed of the discovery of the dead body,” the sheriff said, closing the door behind him, “Lonnie told me you were there before coming back to the station.”</p>
<p>Nicole nodded, glancing furtively on her left side, trying to understand why the BBD agents were there.</p>
<p>“He told me other things about the body, and I need you to confirm the informations, so can you tell me what you saw?”</p>
<p>“There were lacerations, deep and large, all over her back, arms and chest. Scratches on her neck and part of her face,” she answered.</p>
<p>Dolls looked pointedly at Nedley, who let out a deep sigh before running his hand over his face.</p>
<p>“Did you notice anything while you were there?”</p>
<p>“Nothing.”</p>
<p>“I told you it was a case for us,” said Dolls.</p>
<p>The words made the redhead frown, but she remained silent, trying to understand what was happening now.</p>
<p>“There was nothing to prove it until tonight,” countered the sheriff.</p>
<p>“You will have to let learn to put some faith in me, sir.”</p>
<p>“I would have given that case to your service if there had been something pointing towards your field of action.”</p>
<p>“Just get us the papers when we say so, Nedley,” huffed Wynonna.</p>
<p>Nicole had stayed silent until now, but she didn’t really understand where this was all going, and she didn’t like the Earp’s tone.</p>
<p>“I’ve worked on this case for weeks, and there was nothing, absolutely nothing. I’ve followed every possible lead, but it always ended on a deadlock.” she said.</p>
<p>“That’s exactly why you should’ve given us the case, we could’ve done something.”</p>
<p>It took everything she had in her not to snarl at the comment, and she pursed her lips to stop herself from showing her teeth at the woman, taking deep inhales to calm down. This day had just been getting worse and worse, and she didn’t know how much more she could take before breaking.</p>
<p>Dolls looked disapprovingly at the brunette, and Wynonna frowned at him, holding a hand up before rolling her eyes, crossing her arms and looking back at Nedley, letting her colleague do the talk.</p>
<p>“I’m sure you tried your best,” he reassured Nicole before turning back to Nedley, “but we’re on something, something bigger, and there might be a connection between our current case and yours. We’re pretty sure they are both linked, so let us take it.”</p>
<p>The sheriff walked to his desk, standing in front of it, looking at the file, his eyes going on between Nicole and the papers before he gathered it and handed it to Dolls.</p>
<p>“Alright, this case is yours. Officer Haught, you will be put on another case tomorrow. You can give all the informations you’ve found to agent Dolls before going home.”</p>
<p>“What? But I’ve worked on it for weeks, I know it better than anyone, I’ll find the one who killed her!”</p>
<p>“No one here is saying anything about your skills,” tried Nedley to calm her, “but like I said to you on your first visit here, we have a special team for unusual cases, and if agent Dolls says it might be one, we’ll give him and let him and his team deal with it, end of the discussion.”</p>
<p>Holding Nedley’s gaze for a little longer with her teeth clenched, she fought her wolf without saying a word. The beast was now enraged, growling and biting hard, demanding to come out and show its dominance to the people taking what was hers away, but she stayed in control, rolling her shoulders before finally nodding once, her short nails sinking into her palms.</p>
<p>“Good, now everyone can get back to its work,” concluded the sheriff.</p>
<p>She didn’t wait any longer to get out of the office, her anger fueled by her wolf’s aggressiveness. Walking to her desk, she picked everything without looking back, feeling the two BBD agents coming closer.</p>
<p>Still not believing they were taking her case away, she piled everything quickly, stretching her neck a few times to ease the pain caused by frustration and anger, clenching and unclenching her fists a few times to stop her hands from trembling.</p>
<p>“Here, it’s everything I have on it,” she said, handing the folder to Dolls.</p>
<p>He nodded and took it without any other word, immediately walking away with Wynonna close behind him, asking him questions Nicole didn’t care to listen about.</p>
<p>It was all too much, and she needed to let it out before she could explode right here.</p>
<p>Putting her hands flat on her desk, she lowered her head, trying to steady her breath, closing her eyes to take away any visual stimulation, pushing the wolf back inside, making sure the cage would hold it in.</p>
<p>“Nicole, I just learned about-”</p>
<p>The redhead’s shot up straight, turning around to face the brunette, hands up.</p>
<p>“No, I can’t, I...”</p>
<p>She took a second to breath, reminding herself that this Earp had done nothing to her but being supportive and trying to help her. She couldn’t lash out on her when she had been nothing but nice to her, she wouldn’t allow herself to do that.</p>
<p>“I’m sorry Waverly, but now’s really not a good time.”</p>
<p>The training room would do, it was that or trying to go home and change there around the woods, but considering how angry she was, letting her wolf out wasn’t a good idea.</p>
<p>Waverly didn’t try to reach this time, she stayed silent as Nicole walked out of the room, but the officer could feel her eyes on her, just like her wolf, that strangely enough was almost pushing her to go back close to the woman.</p>
<p>Getting to the locker room, she took her uniform off as fast as she could manage, changing into her sports clothes and going to the training room, the urge to hit and kick to let off steam getting the best of her.</p>
<p>She didn’t register how much time she spent there, running on the treadmill and jumping rope until her legs and arms were burning. Nicole didn’t stop there though, she then started to focus on the punch bag, punching it again and again, trying to calm the beast inside her and her own anger.</p>
<p>It was a bad day, she just had to get through it until the end of it and she’d be good.</p>
<p>No one came in, something she was grateful for. Being alone gave her the freedom to go harder, not having to hide and restrain herself as much as she usually did. She still had to have some control on herself and her actions to make sure she wouldn’t break anything, but it was enough for now, her exhaustion and recent transformation reducing her strength.</p>
<p>The sound of footsteps became less frequent behind the door until most of the people working at the station were gone, but she kept going, not caring about her redden knuckles. She brushed away the pain, going harder, trying to wipe out her frustration, anger and shame.</p>
<p>The handle of the door moved, but Nicole stayed focused on the punch bag, even when fresh air came into the room, carrying the sweet smell of jasmine and old books with just a hint of tequila.</p>
<p>“Hey, Wynonna and Dolls told me about the case. I’m sorry you got sidelined on it, I know how much you wanted to find that woman.”</p>
<p>The redhead didn’t say a word, but her wolf’s anger had significantly lowered, the animal sitting with its ears straight up, listening to every word Waverly was saying.</p>
<p>“I just wanted you to know that I’ll do my best to keep you updated on it, and that you did you best. What happened is not your fault.”</p>
<p>Nicole’s punch landed stronger on the bag at that, and the brunette didn’t say anything else, staying on the doorway for a moment. She could feel her eyes on her back, and the temptation to turn around was big, but she couldn’t talk with Waverly now, she had to empty her head and sort everything before she could do that.</p>
<p>“I’ll leave you to your training, see you tomorrow,” Waverly said, slowly moving back and closing the door.</p>
<p>Nicole waited for a bit, waiting for the echo of her footsteps to fade before she finally stopped, breathing heavily as she let her arms fall on her sides, her head up, eyes closed. She stayed that way until her heartbeat slowed down, then grabbed her water bottle, drinking half of it before walking to the door.</p>
<p>Her hand froze as she noticed a sticky note placed on the wall, just above the switch. It was from Waverly, she could recognize her handwriting, and despite the day she had had, Nicole felt her lips curled upward just the slightest reading what was on the piece of paper, ‘If you ever need to talk’, followed by a phone number.</p>
<p>Deciding it was enough for today, Nicole walked to the showers, changing rapidly and gathering her things before heading back home. Her head was still feeling a bit foggy with all the events of the day when she parked in front of her house, fumbling through her pockets to find her keys before getting in, switching the lights on to her furry companion’s displeasure.</p>
<p>The rest of the evening was spent quietly, the redhead trying to find a way to distract herself from the case, in vain.</p>
<p>Despite her awful mood, and with Calamity Jane trying to comfort her, snuggling against her side on the couch, Nicole felt her eyelids becoming heavier, catching herself yawning more and more. Taking it as her clue to go to bed, she pushed herself on her legs, her body screaming in protest after all the exercises she had put herself through lately.</p>
<p>Almost crawling to her bedroom, she barely took time to change, getting off of her clothes requesting way more strength and efforts than she felt capable of at the moment. Once she was ready, she let herself fall on the mattress, sinking almost immediately into sleep.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>It didn’t last long unfortunately.</p>
<p>Only a few hours after falling asleep, Nicole jolted awake, sitting up on her bed, her breath quick as images of Kirsten’s body invaded her head.</p>
<p>Groaning loudly, the redhead walked to the bathroom, splashing her face with cold water in hope it would make the memories fade away. It didn’t work though, and just like almost every night before, she found herself tossing and turning, unable to fall back asleep after that.</p>
<p>Cursing under her breath, Nicole stood up, pacing in her room, trying to get all the excessive energy out so she could finally sleep, but it wasn’t working. More than that, it was just making her wolf more agitated, the animal sensing her nerves and starting to react to it.</p>
<p>Coming back near her bed, she looked at her phone, sighing when she realized what time it was. The post-it Waverly had given her was just here on her nightstand, and she hesitated for a moment, her eyes going between the note and her phone, uncertain of what to do.</p>
<p>“It’s too late, I shouldn't...” She whispered.</p>
<p>But her hands betrayed her words as she took her phone, dialing the number before walking to the balcony, the fresh air and moonlight soothing her a bit.</p>
<p>The phone rang three times before a soft voice answered.</p>
<p>“Hello?”</p>
<p>“Hey, I’m sorry I’m calling so late, I shouldn’t have.”</p>
<p>“Nicole?”</p>
<p>Waverly's sleepy voice was adorable truly, the cracks of it making the redhead smile despite the situation.</p>
<p>“It’s me, I’m sorry I woke you up.”</p>
<p>“No it’s okay, the note said if you need to talk, so I’m glad you did it,” the brunette chuckled.</p>
<p>“I really wanted to apologize for my behavior, I know I wasn’t very nice today...”</p>
<p>“We all have bad days, that’s life. As long as you’re okay, everything’s fine.”</p>
<p>Nicole leaned on her elbows, sighing as she let her head fall against her hands for a moment before she straightened up, looking at the trees in front of her, gathering her thoughts before she spoke again.</p>
<p>“What if I’m not fine?”</p>
<p>The question was quiet, her words carrying more weight than they seemed to, something Waverly understood despite the late hour and sleepy state.</p>
<p>“Well, I can stay up with you and keep you company, if that’s okay with you?”</p>
<p>“That would be really nice.”</p>
<p>“Alright, I’ll stay with you then. Do you want to talk about something specifically?”</p>
<p>“I want to hear about you.”</p>
<p>The words had escaped her lips before she could stop them, but Nicole didn’t apologized or tried to take them back. It was the truth, and tonight she just wasn’t feeling like hiding something or lying.</p>
<p>She was tired of hiding and holding back, and Waverly made it so easy to let loose.</p>
<p>“About me?”</p>
<p>“Yeah, tell me how was you day?”</p>
<p>The brunette laughed quietly on the other end of the phone, and it made Nicole feel a bit better already. She then proceeded to talk about her day, making some comments about stupid old books and jokes her sister had been throwing the last couple days, and she found herself getting calmer between the words, Waverly's voice pacifying her as she bathed in the moonlight, looking up at the stars with the woman’s laugh in her ear making her smile.</p>
<p>Every minute passing made the anger fade away, almost completely vanishing. She kept asking questions to the woman, her wolf quietly sitting inside, listening to every word she was saying in response, asking for more every time Waverly would stop.</p>
<p>It was a strange feeling really, something Nicole wasn’t sure she had already experienced in her life, and it made her as curious as her wolf. There was just something that kept her going back to the Earp, pushing her to get closer, to know more about her, and it felt nice.</p>
<p>The guilt was still there though, the feeling less intense than earlier, but still present in the back of her mind, keeping her from fully enjoying the conversation.</p>
<p>“But that’s enough about me, I want to hear more about you,” Waverly said at some point.</p>
<p>“Well, there’s not much to say,” Nicole replied.</p>
<p>“I’m pretty sure that’s not true. You’re the new mysterious woman in town after all.”</p>
<p>“The new mysterious woman?” She chuckled.</p>
<p>“Yeah, I don’t know that much about you.”</p>
<p>“I don’t know that much about you too you know.”</p>
<p>She readjusted her position on her balcony, sitting against the barrier, letting her legs swing slowly, waiting for Waverly to answer with an amused expression on her face. That playfulness was some fresh air she had desperately needed today.</p>
<p>“Well, you know I have a sister, and I don’t know if you have siblings for example,” huffed the brunette.</p>
<p>This childish answer made her laugh, and Nicole just shook her head.</p>
<p>“I don’t, it’s just me.”</p>
<p>“And do you wish you had a brother or a sister?”</p>
<p>“No,” she immediately answered, taking a second before she kept going, “I mean, I’m sure it would have been great to grow up with someone and have that special bond, but… It made other things easier for me, being alone.”</p>
<p>Like leaving. It was easier to run away when you didn’t have someone else to look after.</p>
<p>Waverly didn’t answer, and Nicole noticed the faint ‘oh’ she let out as she exhaled, and she almost face-palmed herself for darkening the mood with her answer.</p>
<p>“But it’s okay, plus I’m not alone anymore, I have Calamity Jane now, and she watches TV with me, and she’s a great friend in the morning! A bit too loud to my liking, but she’s really affectionate so that’s okay.”</p>
<p>“Calamity Jane? Is that the name of that little furry ball we found on the puppies hunt?”</p>
<p>“Yeah, it suits her quite nicely actually.”</p>
<p>Waverly laughed, and just as if she had heard they were talking about her, the kitten appeared near the glass door, sitting near Nicole and looking up at her before meowing.</p>
<p>“Oh I’m sure it does, she sounds absolutely terrifying,” joked the Earp.</p>
<p>“And it’s nothing compared to the noise she makes when it’s feeding time.”</p>
<p>It was nice talking about silly things like that, Nicole thought, even more when it was with Waverly.</p>
<p>The brunette laughed again at her comment, before letting out a yawn. Looking up at the sky, the redhead realized the stars were starting to fade, the air getting slightly chilly, signaling the dusk coming soon. She checked the time on her phone, and it confirmed what she was sensing.</p>
<p>“You should go back to sleep,” she whispered, as if talking too loud would disturb Waverly's drowsiness.</p>
<p>“It’s okay, I’m not tired.”</p>
<p>Another yawn escaped her, and she tried to cover it, but Nicole heard it and smiled to herself.</p>
<p>So stubborn.</p>
<p>“You need to rest, we can’t risk having you falling asleep on your old books and suffocating on dust.”</p>
<p>“My books aren’t dusty, it’s just the paper smell!”</p>
<p>“Sure,” laughed the redhead, “whatever you say Waverly. Now go to sleep.”</p>
<p>“But what about you?”</p>
<p>The concern in her voice was something she wasn’t expecting really, and it touched her.</p>
<p>“Don’t worry,” Nicole said softly, “I’m feeling better now.”</p>
<p>“You’re sure? I don’t mind keeping you company for a little longer you know.”</p>
<p>She took a deep breath and leaned on her elbows, smiling at the landscape standing in front of her. Her mind was at peace for now, and she had her wolf quietly listening to Waverly, perfectly relaxed.</p>
<p>“Yeah. I’m fine.”</p>
<p>“Alright then, I’ll let you sleep while you can. See you tomorrow?”</p>
<p>“Sleep well, see you tomorrow,” Nicole whispered before hanging up, walking back into her room to rest as much as possible before another day could start.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Things aren't going so well for Nicole, but thankfully she can count on a certain brunette to feel a bit better.<br/>What's your opinion on this chapter? Let me hear it in the comments, I'd love that!<br/>Feel the need to scream at me for what I did? Find me on Twitter as @frenchwaves1</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0008"><h2>8. Chapter 8</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Things had changed, but so subtly Nicole could’ve sworn everything was just the same.</p>
<p>Going back to the station the morning following that hell of a day hadn’t been easy, it had required a lot of self control not to rush to the B.B.D. door to get the case back, and it had required just as much energy not to spend hours beating herself up mentally for her failure.</p>
<p>Working out had helped.</p>
<p>Nicole had put herself into some sort of routine to keep her wolf at bay. She couldn’t let anything give her away, and it had been far too close to happen the day she had learned Kirsten was dead, so she had woken up with that obsession, creating a routine to canalize herself and keep the wolf on track.</p>
<p>Get out of bed, go for a run, take a shower, have a coffee and go to work was how she started her days now, at it had helped a lot.</p>
<p>Nedley had put her on another case, a robbery at the local jewels store, and she had been working on it for ten days before it was solved, getting part of her confidence in her aptitudes back. It wasn’t as easy to put herself on a routine at the station as it was at home, so she just had memorized a short checklist of things to do outside investigate to stay grounded.</p>
<p>Working out at work every other day was nice, it helped with self discipline, and it was very effective to clear her mind when intrusive thoughts were coming her way.</p>
<p>The fact that she was sometimes joined by Waverly was a nice addition to it. The brunette had made her try meditation after on of their talk during one of their coffee break, and she had tried really hard, but it just made her anxious, ending the session on edge instead of calmer. Waverly hadn’t pushed past this try, but it hadn’t stopped her from coming into the room, and maybe it was sheer coincidence, but she happened to always train when Nicole was in the room.</p>
<p>It made focusing on her exercises harder, but she liked the company.</p>
<p>But working out and drinking coffees weren’t the only things they had been doing together lately, and it was something she definitely wasn’t complaining about. Waverly hadn’t mentioned Kirsten’s case for three days, leaving her out of it as she and her team were working on it, leading to some heated conversation if the slamming doors and furious walking Wynonna were any indications.</p>
<p>On the fourth day though, the scent of jasmine had been welcoming her at the station, Waverly’s scent still fresh around her desk as she found a sticky note placed on her computer screen. ‘Meet me on the B.B.D. room asap, we need your help’ was all the information she had had before actually going there.</p>
<p>Even with working hard on the case, the team hadn’t made any progress, something Wynonna wouldn’t admit and Dolls didn’t want to be known outside the room. Waverly had done her best on the research part, and she had pushed hard so her sister and boss would let her ask for Nicole’s help, but they both had said no.</p>
<p>No wasn’t a thing you could say to Waverly Earp when she had something in mind.</p>
<p>So here they had both been, Waverly explaining everything quickly and showing her maps, reports and other documents in the morning, looking over her shoulder every two minutes in fear someone would catch them working on the case.</p>
<p>Nicole had laughed at her, reassuring her by saying there was no one this early in the morning, not even Dolls, and that they had time before someone would come.</p>
<p>She had forgotten the room was soundproof. A big mistake.</p>
<p>That day had been the day she had simultaneously almost got killed by Dolls and had almost killed him. Well, he hadn’t actually threatened her, not physically, but she hadn’t had time to smell or hear him before he had actually opened the door. Her wolf had jumped, immediately on edge by the sudden intrusion as she had been looking through a report, and things had almost gone south when he had walked straight to her, invading her personal space and telling her she could be dragged down and judged for treason.</p>
<p>The growl that had rumbled through her chest had been hard to tone down or hide as she had looked at him in the eyes, refusing to back down at the threat.</p>
<p>Suspicion had shown on the man’s eyes, but Waverly had pulled him away by the arm, and Nicole had inhaled deeply, pulling herself together before getting out of the room despite the brunette’s call, working on her case instead. This day had been a bit hard to get through, and Wynonna hadn’t made it better with all her jokes.</p>
<p>It was actually surprising how many puns she was able to make with her surname really.</p>
<p>After that, Nicole had been extra cautious when Waverly was asking for her help, always letting the door of the B.B.D. office open, so she wouldn’t have another unpleasant encounter with Dolls. The brunette kept asking for her help quite regularly, and the officer knew she didn’t always need her expertise on things, but she had never denied her her time. It was the Earp’s way to let her be updated on the case, so she wouldn’t feel completely left out, and Nicole appreciated that.</p>
<p>“Maybe we could talk to Nedley, I’m sure I can convince Dolls to let you have a look on it, officially. You already know the case anyway, so it’s not like we’d be violating any secret here,” had said Waverly one afternoon after sending a new location for her sister and boss to look at.</p>
<p>Nicole had shook her head, knowing this would only cause problems. It was nice to help the way she was right now, just letting Waverly know her ideas and hypothesis, but actually working with Wynonna and Dolls didn’t sound like a good plan, not now, when she was still getting accustomed to her new life and trying to manage some balance with her wolf.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>So here she was in mid-June, running in the woods with the rising sun, pushing herself between trees and rocks, breathing deeply, her heartbeat strong in her chest as she was running straight to the river.</p>
<p>It was going to be a nice day, she could tell.</p>
<p>Rushing to her usual spot, she then stopped and looked at her watch, chuckling as she took her breath, taking in landscape.</p>
<p>“Not bad Haught, we’re getting better already,” she said, smiling as the sunlight hit her face.</p>
<p>The temperatures were getting warmer now, summer almost there already. The warmth made the scents change a lot around, the fresh hints on the different smells changing, becoming more intense in some way. Green grass and the first clean sheets put outside to dry were now replaced by mint, fresh fruits and all sorts of flowers.</p>
<p>Nicole liked every season, they all had something interesting to bring, but summer was her favorite.</p>
<p>Taking off her shoes, she sat on her usual rocks and put her feet on the water, let out a sigh as the freshness of it tingled her calves.</p>
<p>Yeah, today would be a great day.</p>
<p>She still had some time left before she had to go back home to prepare herself for work, so she stayed there, closing her eyes and resting her weight on her hands, leaning back and letting sensations come in. The scents, the noises, the rocks and dust under her hands, the warmth of the sun on her skin. She took it all in, letting her wolf senses get the most of it, giving the beast space to relax.</p>
<p>After a few minutes, she stood up and walked her way back barefoot, slowly starting to run until the backyard was on sight.</p>
<p>Just like everyday, she was welcomed by a little furry monster meowing out loud and caressing herself against her legs.</p>
<p>“Get out of the way CJ, you know it only makes me slow down, and you have to wait longer to get food.”</p>
<p>The cat only meowed louder, trying to climb on her, making Nicole laugh. Bending down, she took her in her arms, scratching her little head as she walked to the kitchen, keeping Calamity Jane against her as she started her coffee, letting out a small laugh when the cat licked her chin, little paws pushing against her chest.</p>
<p>“Here, just give me two seconds to grab your thing.”</p>
<p>Securing her hold on the little thing, Nicole managed to grab her food, pouring it on the bowl before letting her jump on the floor, rushing to it without a look towards her human.</p>
<p>The redhead didn’t waste time watching the animal though, she kept going with her routine, getting ready before moving on with her day, going to the station with the windows opened. Maybe she could go on a road trip on her next day off, ride her bike for a few hours…</p>
<p> </p>
<p>The day went by without any major problem. Nicole spent most of her shift helping Lonnie with his case once the briefing with Nedley was over. She had noted the way Waverly slowed down when she entered the station, feeling her eyes on her before she turned her head and waved at the brunette, receiving a smile with a light blush in response, the woman then moving to the B.B.D. room.</p>
<p>She had reappeared for lunch, and for a coffee break on the afternoon, bringing a cup on Nicole’s desk, sitting on the corner of it as the redhead relaxed against the back of her chair. At first the redhead thought she was there to talk about Kirsten’s case, since Dolls and Wynonna were at the office for once, but she had quickly told her they were still working on new informations for now, so there wasn’t really something new for now. Instead of talking about it she had asked her about her night, if she’d slept well, if CJ had woken her up once again, meowing and scratching at the door to sleep with her, keeping the conversation nice and light, helping her to get her head out of her case for a little bit.</p>
<p>Soon enough the break was over, and Waverly had to go back to work, Dolls calling after her, but she hesitated, chewing her bottom lip for a second before excusing herself, walking away.</p>
<p>Curiosity had made Nicole’s mind wander for a bit, but then the phone had rung, and she’d went back to her tasks. She worked efficiently, making notes for her colleague on his case, writing down observations and hypothesis, occasionally answering calls and even taking a deposition.</p>
<p>The afternoon almost made that bright, sunny day become less enjoyable when she got called for an intervention after a car crash, but it turned out it was just a few people bickering about who’s fault the accident was, nothing really serious. No one was hurt, and the cars weren’t that damaged, so with a bit of patience and a lot of diplomacy, she managed to convince both parties to sign the accident report.</p>
<p>Things were going just nice, and she had the pleasant surprise to find a note from Lonnie on her desk once she was back, saying her help on the case was leading him somewhere promising. With that news on her mind and her work done for the day, she decided to take care of some paperwork, knowing Nedley would ask her to do it sooner or latter if they were too much behind on it. The whole B.B.D. team seemed to be out, the light off on the room, the old blue truck, red Jeep and black SUV nowhere to be seen near the station.</p>
<p>But even after a bit more than an hour spent on reports, Nicole still was on a good mood. Taking the time to stretch a little bit after standing up, she tidied her desk for the next morning, playing a bit with her keys as she walked out of the station on the sunset, birds singing high in the sky.</p>
<p>She was about to get on her car when her phone vibrated, her screen lightning up with a new notification.</p>
<p>“Hey! You should come to Shorty's tonight, Doc’s organizing a small mechanical bull contest! You can still have nachos if you hurry,” she read out loud, smiling as she imagined Waverly participating on that contest.</p>
<p>Mechanical bulls weren’t really her thing, but she hadn’t seen Rosita or Doc for some time now, and with Waverly there, it seemed like Shorty's was the place to be tonight to complete that beautiful day.</p>
<p>“Alright, Shorty's it is I guess,” she smiled, getting in the cruiser, going down the road to the bar.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>She wasn’t even out of her car that the music, sounds of conversation and laughter echoed to her ears. It seemed like Doc’s mechanical bull contests were some famous event in Purgatory, considering how many cars, trucks and bikes were parked here.</p>
<p>Not wasting time, the woman walked into the bar, feeling her wolf get up and trot around, its tail waging excitedly as she searched for familiar faces and smells.</p>
<p>A loud whistle caught her attention, and she chuckled as her eyes fell on Rosita, the barmaid waving at her.</p>
<p>“Officer Haught, I wouldn't have thought you were into mechanical bull contest!” the brunette said, taking care of orders at the same time.</p>
<p>“I’m not into that, but you know how much I like nachos.”</p>
<p>The woman rolled her eyes and shook her head, preparing a cocktail as Nicole took in the whole atmosphere, a bit surprised by how well her wolf was reacting with all the people, noise and smells around, but she wouldn’t complain. Days like this were rather rare, so she would savor it, enjoy it to the fullest and try to maintain the beast in that content mood it had been since she had woken up.</p>
<p>Doc appeared on the side of the counter, tapping his hat at her and smiling as he grabbed a bottle of whiskey and bourbon before walking to the tables in the corner of the bar, serving and talking a bit with his customers.</p>
<p>“The contest hasn’t started yet?” She asked after looking around.</p>
<p>“No, but it shouldn’t be long before it does. Want me to add you on the list?”</p>
<p>“I told you, I’m not into that kind of contest.”</p>
<p>“And what type of contest would you be willing to participate on, officer Haught?” Asked Doc.</p>
<p>The redhead leaned on her elbows, thinking about it for a minute.</p>
<p>“What kind of contest would you be willing to organize?”</p>
<p>“Anything that would have you participate I guess,” smiled the man, “I’d be interested to see what aptitudes you’re hiding from us.”</p>
<p>“You know what would be nice? A wood chopping contest. I’m sure Nicole would beat everyone at that.”</p>
<p>Doc’s eyebrow arched at that, and the two women laughed, Nicole shaking her head as she rolled the sleeves of her shirt.</p>
<p>“Look, she’s already getting ready for it!”</p>
<p>“I’m just getting comfortable, it’s rather hot in here,” replied Nicole, dodging the dish towel Rosita threw at her before sending it back.</p>
<p>“Want something to cool off?”</p>
<p>“A beer would be nice, please.”</p>
<p>Rosita then stopped in the middle of her preparation, looking up at her with an exaggeratedly surprised expression on her face that made the redhead roll her eyes and smirk.</p>
<p>“Did I hear correctly? Is our dear officer Haught finally going to drink something else than water?”</p>
<p>“I told you I’d be ordering that one day,” she said.</p>
<p>“And I thought that day would never come! Not that you should drink alcohol to make me smile though.”</p>
<p>“And I thought you didn’t flirt with clients...”</p>
<p>“Who’s flirting with who?”</p>
<p>The fresh scent of jasmine made Nicole straighten up on her chair, her head immediately turning towards Waverly as she walked near Rosita on the other side of the bar. Her smile warmed her inside, the way she glanced at her rolled up sleeves making the redhead smirk in return.</p>
<p>“I do believe Rosita has been trying to get closer to Nicole these days,” said Doc, crossing his arms and leaning against the counter, a playful glint in his eyes.</p>
<p>Waverly looked at the barmaid with her eyebrows up, the same playful look as Doc on her face.</p>
<p>“Oh really?” She asked.</p>
<p>“I’m sorry Red, you’re absolutely stunning, but you’re not my type,” winked Rosita.</p>
<p>Nicole huffed at that, the two others laughing before someone called for Doc. The man quickly moved behind his barmaids, and the redhead finally focused on Waverly.</p>
<p>The least she could say was that she was not expecting to see her there, like that.</p>
<p>“I didn’t know you still worked at Shorty's,” she simply said.</p>
<p>“I don’t exactly work here anymore, not officially.”</p>
<p>“Spilling it to the narc, nice move Earp,” sighed Rosita before moving to the pool tables with a tray.</p>
<p>“It’s not like it’s a secret!”</p>
<p>The barmaid either didn’t heard her, or decided to ignore her, and Waverly didn’t push further, choosing to focus on the officer in front of her.</p>
<p>“She’s saying that like Nedley hasn’t been visiting us during events for years.”</p>
<p>“Don’t worry, I wouldn’t say anything if he didn’t know,”smiled Nicole.</p>
<p>The smile she received in return almost made her whine, the wolf nuzzling inside to push Nicole to get closer. She resisted the urge, even if she shared that want with the animal, and chose to focus on the event instead of those hazel eyes looking right at her.</p>
<p>“You’re working here often?”</p>
<p>“Only for events like that, or when Rosita needs the night off.”</p>
<p>“And it’s always like that here?” Asked the redhead.</p>
<p>Waverly looked at her with her brows high before a man called for a barmaid. Excusing herself for a moment, the brunette poured him a beer, giving the client his drink before pouring a second one, quickly coming back to the officer.</p>
<p>“Here, Rosita may have forgotten you, but I don’t,” she sang, putting the glass in front of her.</p>
<p>Nicole gave her her best smile, the one that made her dimple pop out, and her stomach felt weird for a second with the way Waverly ducked her head for a second before looking around, trying her hardest not to look at her before she finally gave in.</p>
<p>“So,” she started “Is the mechanical bull contest a regular thing, or?”</p>
<p>“It depends.”</p>
<p>“Depends on what?”</p>
<p>Waverly leaned against the bar, her face suddenly close to hers, and it took a minute for Nicole to realize she was holding her breath. Inhaling deeply, she had to grit her teeth, jasmine, old books and tequila surrounding her full force.</p>
<p>“Doc is… he’s an interesting human being,” the young Earp started.</p>
<p>“You’re not the first person to say that about him.”</p>
<p>“This bar is one of the most precious thing he has, with Charlene.”</p>
<p>“Sounds like John Henry Holliday likes to be surrounded by women...”</p>
<p>“No! I mean yes, Doc likes the company of women, but Charlene’s not one.”</p>
<p>“Oh?”</p>
<p>“It’s his car.”</p>
<p>The information said in a low voice as if it was some sort of dark secret made Nicole laugh, taken aback by that. Waverly joined her, the two women laughing loudly, before the brunette regained her calm, her eyes still shining with that mischievous glint.</p>
<p>“He’s a good man, you’ll see that with time. He just has its own way to do things, including events at Shorty’s.”</p>
<p>“So what?” Chuckled Nicole, “He has a wheel somewhere with all sort of activities and just uses it every time things are too calm to his taste?”</p>
<p>“If only it was this easy.”</p>
<p>The comment piqued her curiosity, and Nicole tilted her head, leaning her chin in the palm of her hand, waiting for an explanation. The brunette glanced at her watch, frowning lightly before she looked back at her, almost jumping at something Nicole hadn’t detected.</p>
<p>“You must be starving! I bet you haven’t eaten anything since lunch, and I promised you nachos.”</p>
<p>“It’s okay, I’m used to skip meals so there’s no need to rush.”</p>
<p>“But I promised you nachos! Just give me a second, I’ll be back.”</p>
<p>And before she could say anything, Waverly sprinted towards the kitchen door, making it swing as she rushed inside. The redhead shook her head with a small smile, feeling her hunger pull at her stomach. It sure had been a long day, but there was no way she would complain about it.</p>
<p>She’d gladly have more days like that one.</p>
<p>Taking a sip of her beer, Nicole observed Doc and Rosita walking all around, going from a client to another, the strange cowboy smiling and tapping his hat at everyone who was entering the bar as the brunette slalomed between tables with agility, carrying trays with a practiced ease only years in the work could provide.</p>
<p>A light wave of heat came in and caressed her face, and she turned her head just in time to see Waverly walk to her with a plate in one hand, that brilliant smile on her face.</p>
<p>“Here it is!” She said, putting the plate in front of her, “You’re lucky, Wynonna isn’t here yet and couldn’t eat the plate I’ve put aside for you.”</p>
<p>“You put it aside for me?”</p>
<p>The question was genuine, and came out of her mouth before she could actually think. It took a couple of seconds for Waverly to shake out the surprise from her face, and the warmth on her face was something Nicole could get used to.</p>
<p>“Yeah,” almost whispered the brunette.</p>
<p>“Thank you.”</p>
<p>“It’s nothing.”</p>
<p>“It’s very sweet of you,” Nicole insisted.</p>
<p>Her stomach grumbled, and she grabbed a chips, letting out a moan when she got a taste of it. Unable to stop herself, she grabbed another one, and another one, devouring most of her plate before glancing up, meeting Waverly's amused look.</p>
<p>“I’m sorry, I guess you were right, I was starving.”</p>
<p>“It’s okay, I’m glad you’re enjoying it,” answered the barmaid.</p>
<p>“It’s another recipe from the regular one served in Shorty’s, isn’t it?”</p>
<p>“It’s my vegan recipe, practically no one notices usually!”</p>
<p>The way she beamed made Nicole laugh softly before she drank a little, letting the cold drink cool her, relaxing her muscles.</p>
<p>She opened her mouth to compliment the food, but a slamming door caught her attention, and it wasn’t long before a loud voice rang in her ear.</p>
<p>“Alright, let’s get shit done now, the bull better be ready!”</p>
<p>A general acclamation echoed in the bar as Wynonna walked to the counter, sitting next to Nicole, taking a chips from her plate and pushing it into her mouth before making a face.</p>
<p>“Waverly, did you cook tonight?” She asked with her mouth still full.</p>
<p>“Just like every time there’s a special event here.”</p>
<p>Wynonna nodded, her disgust still written all over her face as she grabbed the nearest glass, downing it without a second thought.</p>
<p>“Hey, it was Nicole’s!” Waverly exclaimed as her sister put the glass back on the counter.</p>
<p>“She needed help to finish it, and I needed help to swallow your thing.”</p>
<p>Waverly rolled her eyes and crossed her arms while her sister gave her the biggest smile possible, spinning on her stool, waiting for Doc to approach.</p>
<p>“I’ve heard our current champion had finally showed up,” he said, slowly walking next to Waverly, pouring a whiskey to Wynonna.</p>
<p>“Your champion thanks you greatly for that liquid courage, even if we all know I don’t need it to win again.”</p>
<p>“Obviously.”</p>
<p>Doc winked at the brunette before walking away, coming back with a tray on his hand. He was on his way to serve a table in the corner of the bar, but Wynonna stopped him with a hand on the chest, her face getting really close to his, the two pair of blue eyes locking into each other, and Nicole almost felt uncomfortable with the tension between these two. The attraction between them was so intense she could almost touch it, and her eyes drifted towards Waverly to see her reaction.</p>
<p>The brunette wasn’t even paying attention to her sister and Doc, her head low as she was preparing shots of tequila without letting a drop fall off the glasses.</p>
<p>“So, Haught shot, what are you doing here?”</p>
<p>Wynonna’s voice made her jump, the sudden arm thrown around her shoulders making her back muscles contract. A new glass of beer was waiting in front of her now, the older Earp holding another one too.</p>
<p>Rolling her shoulders in a tentative to relax, she smiled at the woman, looking in front of her to keep a semblance of personal space.</p>
<p>“I was told there were nachos tonight, couldn’t miss it,” she replied, putting a chips in her mouth, “and I’m glad I could make it, they are absolutely delicious.”</p>
<p>“I can’t believe you just said that.”</p>
<p>“What? It’s the best meal I’ve eaten since I arrived in Purgatory!”</p>
<p>“What the-”</p>
<p>“Don’t, she’s got the weirdest food taste I’ve ever seen,” chuckled Rosita.</p>
<p>“How a woman who has such a cool bike can have such horrible taste in food?”</p>
<p>Nicole rolled her eyes at the comments as the barmaid stopped for a second behind the counter, sipping on her glass of water, almost letting out a moan of relief after swallowing the cold liquid.</p>
<p>“I’ll never understand how it can get so hot here sometimes,” she muttered.</p>
<p>“What can I say, I’m irresistible.”</p>
<p>Wynonna added a dimpled smirk with that, her arm finally leaving the redhead’s shoulders as she took a sip of her beer while Rosita shook her head.</p>
<p>“See? I’m not the flirty one in this bar.”</p>
<p>The comment made her laugh, and the barmaid simply ignored Wynonna's reaction at those words.</p>
<p>“You only say that because I rejected you,” joked the redhead, her eyes subtly glancing over the younger Earp coming back towards them.</p>
<p>“I told you, you’re not my type,” scoffed Rosita before she caught her glance, a little smile growing on her face when Waverly stopped at her side, “And I believe I’m not exactly yours.”</p>
<p>Nicole almost chocked on her beer at the knowing look, and Waverly's eyes fell on her as she tried to cover her coughing fit in vain.</p>
<p>“Is everything fine?” The brunette asked her, leaning over the counter to get a closer look on her.</p>
<p>“Yeah, it’s nothing, it just went down the wrong way.”</p>
<p>“Must be these nachos fault...”</p>
<p>Waverly’s head shot up to her sister, glaring at her as she clenched her jaw. Seeing her reaction, Rosita quickly took her tray and rushed back to the tables further, and Nicole ended up with a pissed Waverly and a slightly drunk Wynonna.</p>
<p>She knew the woman was synonym of danger.</p>
<p>“I’m not forcing you to eat them you know,” fumed the Earp on the other side of the counter.</p>
<p>“I’m sorry baby girl, but you know I don’t like vegan food.”</p>
<p>“You’ve never actually tried!”</p>
<p>“And I won’t start tonight, because I need everything to stay down in my stomach as I show everyone who’s the boss here!” Retorted Wynonna.</p>
<p>The brunette opened her mouth to reply, but her sister shot up from her sit with her beer in one hand, moving to the mechanical bull, gathering a crowd around her as she jumped on the thing.</p>
<p>“Alright ladies and gentlemen, the contest is officially open!” Shouted Doc from the stairs near the main doors.</p>
<p>Everyone cheered in the bar, and most of the customers turned to look at the show, a line of contestants already forming on the side.</p>
<p>“I’m sorry she can’t appreciate your meals,” said Nicole, her eyes going from one Earp to the other.</p>
<p>“That’s fine, I’m used to it. And it’s not like she’s ever had taste at anything.”</p>
<p>With customers mainly paying attention to Wynonna as the engine started to turn and shake her, the orders started to slow down a bit, allowing Waverly to stay by her side without juggling with bottles and glasses. The brunette let out a small sigh as she leaned her hip against the counter, watching distractedly her sister on the mechanical bull, her mind visibly wandering elsewhere.</p>
<p>“Is everything okay?” Nicole asked, not paying attention to the screams and whistles on her back.</p>
<p>“Yeah, I’m just a bit tired. Working at the station then coming to help here makes it a rather long day.”</p>
<p>Nicole offered her a smile, smile that the Earp returned before downing a shot of tequila, her nose wrinkling at the taste of the alcohol before shaking her head a bit.</p>
<p>“How does this contest work exactly?”</p>
<p>“Well, Wynonna usually starts it whenever she wants, and sets the leading time, every drunk guy who’s in the room tries to beat her, fails, and by the end of the night she’s the winner.”</p>
<p>“She’s really that good?” She asked, glancing at the show over her shoulder.</p>
<p>“Just like our mother.”</p>
<p>Nicole eyes went back on Waverly at the answer, something in her tone making her frown. There was something in the way she was looking at her sister, but whatever it was, it disappeared so quickly, it was almost as if it had never been there.</p>
<p>“Care to share one?” Waverly said, holding two shots of tequila on her hands.</p>
<p>“Waverly Earp, I wouldn’t have taken you for the type to drink at work.”</p>
<p>“Are you gonna denounce me?”</p>
<p>Nicole chuckled and took the offered drink, locking eyes with the temporary barmaid.</p>
<p>“Never.”</p>
<p>Both women downed they drink in sync, glasses put on the counter at the same time, Waverly grimacing again.</p>
<p>“You’re sure you like tequila?” Nicole asked</p>
<p>“I do, but I’m not exactly a heavyweight like Wynonna, and it’s strong!”</p>
<p>“That’s cute.”</p>
<p>The brunette pushed her forearm playfully at the comment, and the contact on her skin made Nicole shiver. Wynonna was still on the mechanical bull, her hand holding her half drunk beer hold up in the air as she was spinning and practically jumping on the thing, something she didn’t know was possible considering her drunk state, but it wasn’t a problem apparently.</p>
<p>“You’re saying that as if you were drinking anything other than water here.”</p>
<p>“How do you know about that?” Said Nicole, putting on a fake offended look on her face.</p>
<p>“I have contacts,” the brunette winked.</p>
<p>“Sure, Rosita couldn’t hold her tongue I guess.”</p>
<p>“She couldn’t.”</p>
<p>The answer made the redhead smile, but her wolf’s curiosity was waking up again. She knew the women were friends, and by the way Rosita had looked at her sooner as Waverly was approaching, she was curious about what the barmaid at said to the younger Earp.</p>
<p>“Has she told you anything else about me?”</p>
<p>“Not really,” Waverly replied, that mischievous glint back in her eyes.</p>
<p>Nicole straightened up on her stool, an eyebrow high by the answer she was given.</p>
<p>“Not really?”</p>
<p>“Nicole Haught, you’re a curious one aren’t you?”</p>
<p>“You have no idea,” the woman chuckled, smirking at the Earp, looking at her over her glass.</p>
<p>The wolf inside Nicole straightened at her answer, pleased with the conversation. It had been incredibly still, so much that the redhead had barely sense it, focused on Waverly.</p>
<p>The brunette arched a brow at her words, pushing a strand of hair behind her hear, revealing a portion of her neck that instantly caught Nicole’s eyes. Her first instinct was to get closer and take a deep breath, but she resisted the urge, straightening on her sit, trying her best to look up, or anywhere else so the intensity of the pull she was feeling could down a bit.</p>
<p>“So, officer Haught...”</p>
<p>She was trying really hard, but oh was Waverly not making it easy.</p>
<p>“Miss Earp,” she replied, trying to keep her tone detached.</p>
<p>The barmaid leaned on her forearms towards her, a sweet smile on her face, hazel eyes shining bright despite the softened lightning.</p>
<p>“Is there any chance I’ll see you try your chance on that mechanical bull?”</p>
<p>The question made Nicole laugh, even if the sudden proximity with the brunette was making it hard to think logically. Jasmine and old books were mixing with alcohol, her head feeling a bit light with the heat and current atmosphere in the bar.</p>
<p>A roar of cheers and whistles made both of them turn over, finding out Wynonna was finally on the floor. Doc put her time on the chalkboard attached on the wall, and the contestants started to take turns on the mechanical bull. The older Earp stayed around, sitting at the same table as its owner, nursing the drink Rosita gave her, yelling and laughing at the show in front of her.</p>
<p>Nicole only watched a couple minutes, but it was pretty clear no one was a real threat for Wynonna’s title tonight.</p>
<p>“You didn’t answer my question.”</p>
<p>Turning back to the counter, she felt her breath caught up in her throat, her eyes slowly sliding down on Waverly's face, noting every details. She stopped herself before she could glance lower and went back straight on the woman’s eyes, who’s expression was showing some sort of satisfaction.</p>
<p>“So, are you giving it a chance?”</p>
<p>“I’m not that much of a rider.”</p>
<p>“What about your bike?” Asked the brunette, leaning her chin on her hands, her brows high.</p>
<p>“It’s one of the exceptions.”</p>
<p>“What are the others?”</p>
<p>“Wouldn’t you like to know now...”</p>
<p>A wave of electricity ran up her spine, making her hair on the back of her neck standing up. Her wolf was pushing her to be more direct, to take the deal, to be more assertive, things she had no problems with usually, but for some reasons had more trouble to manage tonight.</p>
<p>Tightening her hold around her wolfish instincts, she willed herself to breath as calmly as possible, trying to control her reactions and holding back the need to reach for Waverly.</p>
<p>The brunette’s eyes looked darker, her pupils slightly dilated, and it gave Nicole just the small push she needed to get back on track and take the upper hand.</p>
<p>“And you say I’m the curious one,” she smiled, adding back some playfulness to their conversation.</p>
<p>“I guess we’re both curious them. Is that a bad thing?”</p>
<p>“Quite the opposite, if you ask me.”</p>
<p>Waverly's smile grew with her answer, and she straightened her back as a customer slowly made his was towards the counter.</p>
<p>“So, aren’t you curious to see if you can win this little contest?” She asked as she walked away from the redhead, taking care of the client’s order quickly.</p>
<p>“Do you think I stand a chance against your sister?”</p>
<p>“No, but you’d make a great second place for sure.”</p>
<p>Nicole laughed at that, her wolf snarling inside at the provocation, its pride touched. The animal was now pushing her to stand up and show her worth, but she stayed on her stool, just shaking her head.</p>
<p>“What about you? Are you going to try to beat your sister and become the new Earp champion of this bar?” She asked, ignoring the noise of contestants taking their chance one by one on her back.</p>
<p>“Oh no, the last time I was on this thing I was still a little girl, and it didn’t end well,” the brunette chuckled, coming back in front of her.</p>
<p>“How so?”</p>
<p>“I was too light and didn’t have enough strength to hold on when the mechanical bull swirled around, long story short I ended up with a broken arm.”</p>
<p>“And you want me to jump on this still?”</p>
<p>Waverly, who had leaned against the piece of furniture on her back, came closer to the redhead, that glint she had in her eyes moments ago back. Nicole tried her best to hide it, but the goosebumps she was feeling were betraying her.</p>
<p>“But you’re not a little girl Nicole, and from what I’ve seen at the station you're strong enough to hold on tight and last some time before falling.”</p>
<p>Holding back the growl that was growing in her chest, Nicole didn’t waver, she stayed still, licking her bottom lip before swallowing, not saying a word back.</p>
<p>Waverly’s eyes followed the gesture, and her lips opened slightly for a few seconds, her bust leaning just a bit closer before the mist disappeared from her eyes and she stilled.</p>
<p>Neither talked, but the blush on their faces did it for them.</p>
<p>“It’s not like you have real competition tonight anyway,” the brunette said, her voice wavering just a bit as she pointed at the chalkboard with her chin, straightening up and crossing her arms against her torso with an amused smile.</p>
<p>Nicole turned around just on time to see the last guy on line get on the mechanical bull, only lasting half a minute before her fell, his friends laughing loudly as he stumbled his way over the bar. Doc shook his head with a smile on his face as he looked over the chalkboard, Wynonna already jumping around, screaming about being the champion all around.</p>
<p>“Ladies and gentlemen, this is your last chance to try and win the contest, participations will end in ten minutes!” He announced.</p>
<p>“Come on, let them know what the new deputy is capable of!”</p>
<p>Waverly was hopping up and down on the other side of the bar, and this was a cute thing to witness. Looking around quickly, the officer realized a good portion of the customers were gone now, only a few still drinking at their tables silently. Checking on the clock on the wall, she was surprised to see it was a bit more than one in the morning.</p>
<p>She hadn’t see the time pass this night.</p>
<p>“Alright,” she smiled, sighing as she looked back at the brunette, “I’ll try, but only at one condition.”</p>
<p>“Name your price officer.”</p>
<p>“If I make it less than ten seconds behind Wynonna, I’m getting a cup of coffee.”</p>
<p>“A coffee?” Repeated Waverly, surprise all over her face.</p>
<p>“A coffee,” the redhead said with a smirk.</p>
<p>“Alright, that’s a deal, now go and tame that beast!”</p>
<p>The comment made Nicole laugh under her breath as she got up and turned around, eyes on the mechanical bull. No one was waiting anymore, the remaining clients having accepted that Wynonna had won once again, which she hadn’t yet. Puffing her chest out a bit to her wolf’s greatest satisfaction, Nicole walked across the bar, chin high as she stopped just before the table where Doc was sitting.</p>
<p>“Still taking contestants?”</p>
<p>The man looked up from his bourbon, his smile widening when he found out who was standing in front of him.</p>
<p>“Officer Haught, I thought this was not your type of contest.”</p>
<p>“I guess your barmaid for the night was persuasive enough.”</p>
<p>“That’s one of her many qualities,” he agreed, nodding as he looked at Waverly for a second before focusing back on Nicole.</p>
<p>“So, is my participation accepted, or is Wynonna already crowned?”</p>
<p>“You’re right on time to close the contest, let’s see what you can do.”</p>
<p>Doc gestured for her to take place and the redhead nodded, climbing on the mechanical bull with ease, glancing towards the bar to see the younger Earp smiling at her. She smiled back, the type of smile that would make her dimple pop out even if the barmaid was on the other side of the room, and grabbed the handle with one hand, ready for the ride.</p>
<p>The bull started to move, and Nicole quickly checked Wynonna’s time on the chalkboard, memorizing it before focusing on staying on the bull without breaking it with using too much strength.</p>
<p>Her thighs tightened and she contract her abs, keeping he hips flexible to follow the movements, doing her best not to cheat and use her werewolf senses. The mechanical bull swirled violently for the first time and her hand tightened on the handle, her body moving quickly to keep balance, the redhead staying on task, trying to keep cool while staying vigilant. She did her best to anticipate the next moves, and once she passed the minute without falling, people started to cheer for her, gathering back near Doc, who was sitting in a relaxed position, legs stretched out in front of him, leaning against the back of his chair with his arms crossed and his eyes on her, following her performance.</p>
<p>Nicole started to feel her wolf’s euphoria, grunting and groaning with the effort, pleased with the attention people were giving them tonight. A glance towards the counter doubled the intensity of her wolf’s joy, Waverly’s eyes never leaving her as she kept holding on.</p>
<p>She had passed the one minute and a half mark, and the mechanical bull went on, the movements gaining on speed and strength, making her grit her teeth, a low groan coming out as she swirled abruptly on the right.</p>
<p>Getting back on daily jogging and working out at work seemed to be a really good idea now, and she was glad she had decided to getting back on sports.</p>
<p>The wolf kept pushing her, adrenaline exciting the beast, feeding its competitiveness, pushing her to be the best, to beat everyone and show them who was the strongest one.</p>
<p>“Not too much, don’t go too far or too hard, stay in control,” Nicole reminded herself, trying to keep the wolf in check.</p>
<p>It wasn’t easy, her own desire to win nurturing her wolf, making it more hungry for it. The challenge was too appealing, and if she didn’t pay attention, she could easily loose control, which was not an option for a night in a bar with people all around.</p>
<p>Time kept passing, and she was getting close to Wynonna's time, really close. Part of her wanted to keep holding on and beat the Earp, and each second passing made this part grow, but she knew she had to play it cool and lose, even if the thought alone made her wolf growl and stand firmer on its legs, trying to force her muscles to cling tighter and hold just a bit longer.</p>
<p>“It’s enough now, let go,” she willed herself, letting out another growl.</p>
<p>The wolf snarled inside her, its fur bristled, clearly showing its displeasure as Nicole gave up, loosening her grip on the mechanical bull and letting herself fall.</p>
<p>The small crowd that had gathered let out a loud and disappointed exclamation, quickly dispersing as Nicole got up on her feet, straightening her uniform before she walked to Doc with a smile on her face.</p>
<p>“Well,” she sighed, her eyes drifting to the time on the clock, “I guess Wynonna will keep her title for this time.”</p>
<p>“This was a great performance though, it has been a long time since someone came so close to steal her trophy.”</p>
<p>“I’m okay with leaving it to her for this time.”</p>
<p>The man laughed softly at that, both of them looking towards the Earp who was running after Rosita to take a beer from her trail, cheering and dancing her way back to them with a big grin on her face.</p>
<p>“Haught, holy shit you’re a good rider!” She said, pushing the redhead’s arm before drinking half her glass, “Almost got me tonight, that was a performance.”</p>
<p>“Not enough to beat you though.”</p>
<p>“Be easy on yourself, no one has ever been this close to my time.”</p>
<p>Seven seconds behind. Nicole tried her best to hide her smile, nodding at Wynonna's words before glancing over her shoulder, her eyes searching for the other Earp, the one that had caught her attention all night.</p>
<p>Waverly was finishing the dishes, and she must have felt the redhead’s look on her, because she lifted her chin right when Nicole turned around, leaving Wynonna with Doc to celebrate her victory.</p>
<p>The smile on the brunette’s face grew wider with every step that she took, and Nicole had to admit she slowed down her pace just a little to appreciate the view a bit longer, her hands in her pockets and a smirk on her face.</p>
<p>“I guess you were right, I couldn’t beat your sister,” she said standing between two stools, her smile just a little too big for someone who had lost a contest.</p>
<p>“You fought hard from what I’ve seen, I don’t understand why you were so reluctant to jump on that thing.”</p>
<p>“It’s not really my thing.”</p>
<p>“That’s not what you performance says,” countered the barmaid.</p>
<p>Nicole chuckled, looking down for a second, her tongue running quickly over her lower lip before she looked up again, pushing her forearms against the counter.</p>
<p>“A coffee was at stake, there was no way I could let it go away.”</p>
<p>“Oh yeah?”</p>
<p>The brunette’s brows went up, and she put the glasses she had just washed at their place behind her, struggling a bit on her tip toes to reach the higher shelf which made Nicole smile.</p>
<p>“Yeah,” she breathed out.</p>
<p>“And you’ve won it fair and square,” replied Waverly, turning around with crescent moon eyes matching her smile, “seven seconds is the closest anyone has ever been to beat her.”</p>
<p>“So you’re still up for it?”</p>
<p>Nicole felt her heartbeat increase as hazel eyes fell on hers, jasmine filling her nostrils, a fresh wave more than welcomed in that moment, even if it made her wolf push for more.</p>
<p>“A deal is a deal.”</p>
<p>“You don’t have to-”</p>
<p>“I want to.”</p>
<p>Waverly’s cut made Nicole speechless for a moment, her mouth slightly open as she scanned the Earp’s face, trying to see any trace of hesitation.</p>
<p>Her silence must have been misinterpreted though, as determination soon changed to a flustered expression.</p>
<p>“I mean, if that’s still something you’d like to...” Waverly stuttered, her hands fiddling with the dishtowel on the counter.</p>
<p>“I’d absolutely love to go out for a coffee with you.”</p>
<p>Her eyes didn’t leave the brunette’s face as one of her hand slowly made its way to her fist, her thumb running slowly over her wrist as she gently squeezed her hand, trying to calm Waverly's nerves.</p>
<p>“Alright.”</p>
<p>A shy smile was back on her face, and Nicole almost whined when she felt the soft touch of her thumb on her skin, getting pins and needles on her whole arm.</p>
<p>“Alright,” she said back, “are you free on Saturday?”</p>
<p>Waverly nodded, blush on her cheeks making it quite hard to focus on her words for Nicole, who felt like a teenage girl, her thumb still moving distractedly on the brunette’s wrist.</p>
<p>“I’ll pick you up at four?”</p>
<p>“Sounds perfect,” the youngest Earp said, perfectly still on her side of the bar.</p>
<p>“It’s settled then. Have a good night Waverly.”</p>
<p>Moving away from her spot was harder than she thought, and Nicole had to push herself off of the counter to break the contact, even if her eyes refused to leave the brunette for another moment. She couldn’t help but look back at her while she took the few stairs that led to the doors, and the small wave the woman gave her almost made her trip on the last step, a goofy smile plastered on her face as she torn her eyes away, finally leaving Shorty's.</p>
<p>Maybe if she hadn’t been so focused on Waverly Earp, she would have been able to note Doc sneaking away from the room, getting in the kitchen to find some privacy.</p>
<p>“That’s it, I have found her,” the man said, keeping an eye on the door just in case someone would enter while he was on the phone, “now tell whoever is your boss that she is here, in Purgatory.”</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Hello hello! I hope everyone enjoyed that chapter, it was definitely one I loved writing!<br/>If you want to talk, you can find me on Twitter as @frenchwaves1<br/>See you next time!</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
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